76ers vs. Jazz: Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey salvage win from poor team effort
12/29/2024 12:17 AM
The Philadelphia 76ers (12-17) faced the Utah Jazz (7-23) to start their latest West Coast swing. The Sixers did NOT start out on the right foot, submitting a poor effort against one of the NBA’s bottom feeders. Nonetheless, they did just enough to win 114-111 for their first three-game winning streak of the season.
The 76ers still missed Andre Drummond, Eric Gordon, Jared McCain and KJ Martin, though Utah was without Keyonte George and John Collins. Even at full strength, the Jazz are a team the Sixers should handle easily with their Big 3 playing. Only part of that came to fruition but it was the most important part: Philly got the W.
Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey lead the way
— Josh Grieb (@JGrieb10) December 29, 2024
Embiid hurt both feet during the 76ers’ Christmas win over the Boston Celtics. Embiid fell and tweaked his right ankle during warmups, which brought something new to worry about before the game. Then, he lightly twisted his left foot in the fourth quarter. He didn't seem bothered by either issue in this one.
The Sixers spread the floor for the big fella but he made only one of his first five shot attempts, a follow-up tip-in from one of his missed jumpers. He drew two shooting fouls on shot-blocking extraordinaire Walker Kessler, hitting all four of his free throws.
Embiid got it rolling in the second quarter, especially when Kessler committed his fourth foul and had to sit the last five minutes of the first half. The 76ers’ big man had eight points in those five minutes and turned up the heat on defense, putting Jazz guards in tough spots by being in the right spots and contesting everything he could in front of him.
Coming into the arena where he scored a then-career-high 51 points in his last visit, Tyrese Maxey was fresh off a brilliant performance on Christmas. His quickness gave the Jazz lots of trouble, zipping to the hoop and splashing jumpers to record 13 points in the second quarter.
Both Maxey and Embiid got to the foul line often, perfectly illustrating the Jazz’s inability to contain them. They were responsible for over half of the 76ers’ points just through their scoring alone. They teamed up for the sequence that saved them, with Embiid hitting the deck and dishing to Maxey in the corner for a three that gave them their first lead of the final six minutes.
Maxey hit another three on a busted play to break a tie. Then he assisted Embiid on a jumper at the nail to do it again. Nick Nurse helped seal the deal with two successful challenges as his star big man (32 points, four assists, four steals, three blocks) and star guard (32 points, six assists, three stocks) propelled the team to victory.
Shedding the holiday sweets
Out of the gates, the 76ers looked like a team that got their fixings of Christmas dinner and desserts and then some. They made the Jazz look way more competent than they had any business looking.
The Jazz recorded five offensive boards before the 76ers even had four field goals. They drove into the paint easily, making the Sixers’ defense look like tissue paper. Whether it was a floater or a lob to Kessler after Embiid stepped up, Utah’s offense found very high-percentage looks. The Sixers’ offense came out of the gates cold but that was mostly due to poor shooting on what were mostly good looks.
Utah led by 14 after seven minutes of action, forcing Philly to sit up in its chair and get serious. PG led a unit comprised of Caleb Martin and bench guys to a 9-0 run, though the hot shooting of Johnny Juzang kept the hosts in front by 12 after the first dozen minutes.
The Sixers took the lead in the second quarter through some strong minutes from Guerschon Yabusele and great defense from Paul George. Yabu picked up three fouls in the first half but was everywhere on the court the Sixers needed him to be — on the glass and in the corners to shoot threes.
Collin Sexton was a problem for the Sixers all night long. He burst through the perimeter and into the paint like clockwork and launched some threes. Lauri Markkanen’s high volume of treys gave the Jazz some juice but the pressure Sexton put on the Philly defense was their bloodstream.
Brice Sensabaugh gave Utah a nice lift with 20 points off the bench on 6-9 shooting. He was also one of several players in purple to secure five rebounds, a big part of why the Jazz dominated the rebounding battle, 48-32. Philly’s effort on the glass was simply not close to being up to par.
The 76ers’ effort flickered throughout the game. It was clear that when they turned it on, they were scores better than the lowly Jazz, owners of the NBA’s very worst defense. Utah’s abundant turnovers should have allowed Philly to get out ahead and cruise to a win. But the Sixers made it hard on themselves, though not hard enough to depart the mountains with a loss.
PG brings the clamps! But also the fouls
Most people expected George to be good on one side of the ball and rough on the other with the 76ers. But most people expected offense to be the good side and defense the bad one. It’s been the exact opposite — and this game was a great microcosm. George’s ability to read offenses and generate opportunistic takeaways has helped the 76ers’ defense stay above sea level this season.
It took PG just one half to rack up four steals. His quick hands and quicker thinking forced the Jazz into numerous turnovers, most of which were of the live-ball variety. In perhaps his best sequence of the season, he swiped the ball from Markkanen and assisted a Maxey dunk with a behind-the-back pass.
In the second half, George set a new season high with five steals. His aggression came at the cost of fouls, however, as he reached four midway through the third quarter. He picked up his fifth less than 20 seconds later. George being his own worst enemy hamstrung his team significantly. Kyle Lowry picked up the slack by forcing a few turnovers but George still could have been a major help.
Without George to start the fourth quarter, which began with the teams tied at 81, the Jazz drove and lobbed it up to their bigs. It exposed the Sixers’ lack of rim protection, something that George might have been able to provide on the weak side. His attentiveness and athleticism would have made him more than capable of knocking those passes away. The Sixers that tried to break up those passes were unsuccessful.
Nurse said before the game that Adem Bona could get some run due to Drummond’s absence but the rookie big man didn't get any minutes. He didn't end up needing him to win but he probably could have made it a little more comfortable.
Eventually, George and the Sixers have to figure out how to unlock his skillset in a third-option role. He passed Vince Carter on the NBA’s all-time threes leaderboard on the way to posting another pedestrian stat line of 13 points on 4-11 shooting. Although he closed the game out, it was another one where he failed to provide the full star experience.
The 76ers’ next stop is on Monday against the Portland Trail Blazers.
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