PHILADELPHIA–The Philadelphia 76ers were looking to begin a winning streak after picking up a win at home on Saturday. They hosted the No. 1 team in the West in the Utah Jazz so this contest offered something of a test for Philadelphia even if the Jazz are playing over their heads a bit.
Utah built a 14-point lead in the first half as they were using their size and 3-point shooting in order to build up an advantage, but the Sixers used a steady dose of Joel Embiid to come away with a 105-98 victory at home. The big fella led the way with a career-high 59 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists along with tying a career-high in seven blocks in this one.
Tyrese Maxey added 18 points, Tobias Harris had eight, and De’Anthony Melton had six and five rebounds in his return off the bench. Matisse Thybulle had five steals.
Here are the player grades following the win:
After breaking out of his slump on Saturday, Maxey was able to keep it going to start this one with a corner triple and a few aggressive drives to the basket for finishes. Philadelphia needed his offensive scoring in this one with the Jazz being one of the more efficient offensive teams in the league. His foul trouble was tough for him and the team as they could’ve used his offense more. It seemed the foul trouble limited him and threw him off his rhythm on the offensive end, but Embiid carried that load on Sunday.
In the first seven minutes of this one, Thybulle picked up two steals as he was constantly bothering the Jazz ball handlers and flying around on the defensive end of the floor. He made a few really nice defensive plays in this one in order to help the Sixers get back in it when they trailed by double-digits. His defensive work in this one was stellar.
Harris had a strong move to start his night as he drove and finished at the basket, but after that, it was a bit of a struggle on the offensive end for him. He didn’t get much opportunity in the first half because Embiid was having so much success and he didn’t help much on the glass because of Utah’s size. He had his most offensive success by getting out and running to begin the third quarter. He missed quite a few layups which hurt their offensive flow at times.
This was another night where Tucker was doing what he normally does with his energy, hustle, and effort, but the Jazz are just a tall team. This was one of those games where…
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