Sixers host Jazz after tough loss to Warriors (Nov 20, 2017)
The Philadelphia 76ers will be looking to erase the memory of a dispiriting loss when they continue their season-long six-game homestand against the Utah Jazz on Monday night.
The Sixers built a 24-point lead over the Golden State Warriors 38 seconds into the second half on Saturday night, then saw the defending NBA champions outscore them 63-21 over the next 17:48 en route to a 124-116 victory.
"We showed, certainly in the first half, how good we could be," Sixers guard J.J. Redick said. "Not just offensively, but defensively, and the way we executed our game plan. That third quarter was too much to overcome. They're as explosive a team offensively as there has ever been in this game. I don't think that's an exaggeration."
Ben Simmons had 23 points, a career-high 12 assists and eight rebounds for Philadelphia, the eighth double-double of the rookie's 15-game-old pro career. Joel Embiid scored 21 points, while Redick and Robert Covington finished with 20 apiece.
Coach Brett Brown thought his team, which concluded a five-game road trip on Wednesday night, might have been fatigued, but his players weren't eager to play that card.
"They're just a great team," Simmons said of the Warriors.
Embiid said, "A basketball game is 48 minutes, so you've got to come out and play for 48 minutes. You can't just be playing for 24 minutes."
The Jazz, without center Rudy Gobert (bone bruise, right knee), guard Joe Johnson (wrist) and guard Dante Exum (shoulder surgery), recorded their first road victory in seven games when they blasted Orlando 125-85 on Saturday night to improve to 7-10 overall.
Rodney Hood scored a season-high 31 points, Derrick Favors added a season-high 25 and Raul Neto collected a career-high 22 for the Jazz, which limited the Magic to 33.3 percent shooting while outscoring them 62-37 in the second half.
Hood, expected to provide increased production after Gordon Hayward departed for Boston in free agency in the offseason, leads Utah in scoring, at a career-best 17.7 points a game. He has done that despite starting just nine of the 15 games in which he has appeared.
He came off the bench on Saturday to pour in 21 points in the second half, 15 of those coming in the third quarter. He finished 12 of 21 from the field, including 7 of 13 from 3-point range.
"I got an easy layup and from there my shot felt good," Hood told the Salt Lake City Tribune. "I was real aggressive and I got to the basket a couple of times and then it kept falling from there."
The Jazz, which will be playing the finale of a four-game road trip, lost 104-97 to Philadelphia at home on Nov. 7. Gobert, who has missed the last five games, is not expected back until at least mid-December, while Johnson and Exum have not played at all this season.
The Sixers continue to be without rookie guard Markelle Fultz, the first overall pick in this year's draft. He has missed the last 11 games with a shoulder injury.
Philadelphia is also without guard/forward Justin Anderson (shin splints), guard Jerry Bayless (wrist) and guard/forward Nik Stauskas (ankle). Bayless is expected to return by the end of the month, Anderson no later than early December.
Stauskas is expected to return at some point during the homestand.
