NBA: Jazz cruises to an easy win by stomping the Sixers on the road
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - The Utah Jazz have been playing all the right notes lately, adding another game to the win column after overpowering the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night.
The Jazz dominated the Sixers 118-96 for their sixth win in a row, while Philly had their three-game winning streak snapped in the process.
One of the NBA’s best teams was down but fought back early for an impressive victory against a team that’s slowly getting itself back to where they once were.
During the first quarter, Philly started off strong, playing like the better team to take a five-point lead as things went into the second.
The Sixers then started to decline as the Jazz made some early adjustments to take over with a 61-54 lead at halftime.
The Jazz kept it up in the second half with a steady mix of defense and offense to extend their lead to 12 points after quarter three as the Sixers continued to slip away.
The Sixers barely showed up at all in the fourth, scoring their lowest single-quarter point total with only 20 against Utah, experiencing their biggest deficit in the game before the final buzzer.
The player spotlight
The league’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Rudy Gobert (29), put up the biggest effort in Utah’s dominating win over Philly.
Despite Philly having their man in the middle, Joel Embiid, back in the fold for the last six games, Gobert was still the better big man Thursday night.
By the final buzzer, the two-time DPOY tallied up his 19th double-double of the season.
Gobert finished the night with 6-for-11 shooting for 17 points, 21 total rebounds, and two blocks.
The big picture
The Jazz might not have the NBA’s flashiest scorers, guys who shoot the ball well and seem to be able to hit any shot from anywhere on the court.
But they’re still winning games, quietly sitting third in the Western Conference and third in the league’s overall standings.
Folks might not remember, but even though they didn’t make a Finals appearance last season, this is the team that finished the regular season with the NBA’s best record.
They’re perfectly capable of running with the best of them as they’re second in the league in scoring at 115 points per game.
On Saturday, the Jazz will finish up their small road trip with a game against the Wizards, while the Sixers will stay at home to welcome the Warriors.
Cover photo: Imago/UPI Photo