By: Kylan Watson

After falling to the San Antonio Spurs last night, the Philadelphia 76ers faced the Utah Jazz for the first time this season. Both teams battled throughout this game, but the Sixers used their defense to shut the Jazz down late in the fourth quarter and were able to make enough clutch baskets in this contest to beat Utah 106-102.

Philly did not have VJ Edgecombe (back contusion), Kelly Oubre Jr, (illness), Joel Embiid (oblique injury) and Paul George (suspension) and because of that they needed help from all available bodies in this game. Tyrese Maxey (25 points), Jabari Walker (22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds), and Quentin Grimes (15 points) combined for 62 of the Sixers’ 106 points. Walker powered the bench in this game for the second straight game he scored 20 plus points and made 4/6 of his three-point attempts in this contest. He also produced some timely rebounds and buckets that helped them seal this game. Walker needs to play more his rebounding and hustle abilities continue to shine through every time he touches the floor. Also, the Sixers need as much of that as possible, especially while missing four starters as the season ends.

Despite the offensive explosion from Maxey, Walker, and Grimes, the Jazz were able to retake the lead in the third quarter. They took full advantage of the Sixers’ inability to play good third quarters throughout this season. Keyonte George (30 points) and Isaiah Collier (18 points) combined for 48 of Utah’s 102 points. George took this game over in the second half of this game for Utah. His efforts singlehandedly saved Utah when their offensive possessions were ineffective and Philly could not stop him no matter who they had on him. George took full advantage of the Sixers’ lack of wing depth in this game and attacked the basket and made multiple three-pointers in this game to keep his team in it.

The Sixers were able to turn up the defensive pressure late in the fourth quarter and allowed them to comeback in this game. They were able to force Utah to turn the ball over and score points from those turnovers. The combination of turnovers and bad shots shut the Jazz’s offense down in the last three minutes of the fourth quarter and allowed Philly to seal this game.

Philly just wanted this game more than Utah and they finally got some energy from their bench unit which has been abysmal throughout the second half of the season. Nick Nurse and the rest of the Sixers coaching staff need to put players on the floor who can hustle like Walker and put points on the board. That is what has been missing for them in the last few weeks and getting something from this unit will help them find their stride as they head into the postseason.

The Sixers will now prepare to face the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday evening, and they have not beaten the Hawks yet this season. Philly may get some much-needed reinforcements with both Embiid and Edgecombe being re-evaluated in the next few days and possibly cleared to play. Additionally, they will need to limit their turnovers, keep the rebounding battle competitive, stay connected to their man on the defensive end, and continue to cash in on the high-percentage shooting opportunities created from their ball movement. Implementing these things into their game plan on Saturday night will put the Sixers in great shape to win their 34^th game of the season.