What is the story about?
If the Sixers are able to come away with an OK seed, they’ll owe quite a bit of it to the Jazz.
Philadelphia outlasted a tanking Utah team, holding on to win 126-116 Saturday night.
They are 39-32, the seventh seed in the East after losses earlier in the night by the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat but a win from the Atlanta Hawks.
VJ Edgecombe had 22 points shooting 9-of-19 from the field along with a new career-high 13 rebounds and four assists. Quentin Grimes led the Sixers with 25 points on 9-of-15
shooting.
Trendon Watford had 20 off the bench going 7-of-11 from the floor. Ace Bailey led the Jazz with 25 as well.
Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, Paul George, Kelly Oubre Jr., and Johni Broome remained out for the Sixers. Utah was done eight players themselves, headlined by Keyonte George and Isaiah Collier.
Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.
First Quarter
- It was distracting just how far ahead of the action the broadcast audio was on NBCSP’s feed to start the game. This spoiled things like Justin Edwards knocking down his first three of the night, Edgecombe and Grimes both opening up their nights with drives, and Dominick Barlow hurting his ankle when he got tripped up. He was ruled out with a left ankle sprain shortly after leaving the game.
- Utah had success in the paint early. With Kyle Filipowski getting to the line a couple of times, it only took a couple of threes to rip off a quick 10-2 run. The Sixers responded offensively, but continued to get beat by backdoor cuts and quick outlets.
- Pushing the pace helped the Sixers as well. It helped Cam Payne knock down his first two threes of the night before getting fouled on his third attempt. Grimes blowing by his defender capped off a 15-2 run for Philly. Bailey drilled a three at the buzzer to snap a 4:41 field goal drought and pull the Jazz to within four.
Second Quarter
- The broadcast appeared to finally be fixed with Delaware Blue Coats legend Kennedy Chandler stealing the ball from MarJon Beauchamp, getting an and-1 as he finished on the other end. Payne did his best to stop an extended Jazz run, but they were struggling defensively. Adem Bona picked up his third foul as the froncourt struggled with pick-and-rolls.
- Edgecombe’s attempts, like Payne’s, did help swing the game back again. He hit a nice turnaround from the midrange before a dazzling spin move to set up a floater. The start to Watford’s shift was rocky but he bullied his way to eight points in the quarter.
- As the pendulum was swinging back again, Edgecombe was inadvertently poked in the eye by Filipowski and had to leave the game. They were due after going six whole games without a starter getting injured (This is cheating a little bit, counting Barlow and Oubre as starters but it doesn’t matter, they’re all hurt anyway). This was amidst a 13-2 run for the Jazz that put them up by six at the break.
Third Quarter
- At least this injury wasn’t as serious. Edgecombe was out there to start the second half. Bona rebounded to begin the third, blocking a Fiilipowski layup after completing an and-1 from a dunk he was fouled on. Bailey continued to be really solid for Utah. He picked up his fourth block of the night, leading to a fast break that he finished the alley-oop of. An errant pass of his though led to an easy steal and break that put the Sixers back in front.
- Bona continued to make good on his touches, but left some on the table as well. He was fouled on a layup but split the pair. Edgecombe found him off an offensive board for a strong dunk on the next possession, but missed that free throw as well after being fouled. Watford was able to complete his three-point play, but the Jazz getting to the paint on nearly every drive kept them just in front.
- Free throws kept the Sixers on the seesaw as Marc Zumoff would say. Edgecombe split a pair as well. Jabari Walker muscled his way for a putback layup to get the Sixers back on top, but Bailey answered right back with a three. Walker was able to work his way in for another layup and Edgecombe sprung free in the corner on the following possession. That three had the Sixers holding a one-point lead going into the fourth.
Fourth Quarter
- Walker’s strong shift continued, swiping the ball from Cody Williams and finding Beauchamp for a transition layup. Edgecombe had an impressive take to the basket and Beauchamp made a nice up-and-under move for another layup. Still getting beat by cuts, the Sixers were not coming up with enough stops to pull ahead.
- Just like the second, Payne hit some big baskets as the starting backcourt needed a breather. It helped that he was the only Sixer to make more than one three-pointer this late in the game. It remained far from a perfect effort as the starters returned but Grimes and Watford kept plugging away to get baskets.
- Something this stretch has allowed Grimes to do is cook in the midrange when his three-point shot isn’t falling. Attacking there again down the stretch helped put this game away, as did the Jazz going scoreless for three minutes. Grimes hit a particularly pretty fadeaway falling to his left, kissing it off the glass.
