Sixers-Jazz takeaways: Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid join elite 50-point club; Mo Bamba wants all the smoke

SALT LAKE CITY — Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid secured a milestone. Mo Bamba has that dog in him, and Jaden Springer shows that he belongs.

Those three things stood out for the 76ers during Thursday’s 127-124 victory over the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center.

Maxey finished with a career-high 51 points, making him and Embiid the NBA’s third duo to have multiple 50-point games in a season.

Los Angeles Lakers Hall of Famers Elgin Baylor and Jerry West were the first pair of teammates to accomplish the feat during the 1961-62 season.

Baylor scored 50 or more points five times that season, and West did it twice. Kevin Durant (three times) and Kyrie Irving (twice) then accomplished the feat two seasons ago with the Brooklyn Nets.

This season, Embiid has scored at least 50 points three times and Maxey has done so twice.

Embiid, the reigning MVP, had a career-high 70 points against the San Antonio Spurs on Jan. 22. The seven-time All-Star also had 51 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Dec. 20. And he had 50 points against the Washington Wizards on Dec. 6.

Meanwhile, Maxey’s two 50-point performances came on Thursday night and Nov. 12, when he scored 50 against the Indiana Pacers.

As a result, Maxey and Embiid joined Dallas Mavericks point guard Luka Dončić, Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker as the only players with multiple 50-point games this season.

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Maxey’s 51-point, no-turnover game capped a special day for him.

He was in a great mood in the morning, anticipating his first day back after missing the previous three games with a sprained left ankle. Before the game, he became an All-Star. And then he finished with a career night.

“Blessed great day, honestly,” Maxey said. ”It was a wonderful day. Honestly, I keep saying it: I’m just happy that we got the win. All that wouldn’t have mattered if we lost. We all would have been sitting in here sad on our long flight back to Philly.

“But the vibes are good now. We needed this W.”

Bamba was praised by Maxey and Sixers coach Nick Nurse for providing an intimidating defensive presence.

The 7-footer did most of his damage in the fourth quarter. He recorded two of his three blocks while playing the final 7 minutes, 17 seconds. Bamba also grabbed three huge rebounds and scored on a hook shot that gave the Sixers a 117-114 cushion with 4:06 left.

The former Westtown School standout got into it with John Collins in the closing seconds.

Utah called a timeout with 5.8 seconds remaining after Tobias Harris hit a pair of foul shots to give the Sixers a 125-122 lead. During the timeout, Utah’s Colin Sexton attempted a practice shot at the Sixers’ basket. Having none of that, Bamba blocked his attempt. Bamba and Collins then got into a brief altercation.

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Not backing down, Bamba slung Collins’ arm down while walking in the direction of the Sixers’ bench. Words were exchanged, and the post players received technicals. After walking to the bench, Bamba was about to re-engage with Collins before Maxey and Patrick Beverley ushered him away.

Bamba had the look of someone who wanted all of that smoke.

“I thought Mo did a heck of a job down the stretch, too,” Nurse said. “He was big and he had a tough two and a couple key blocks and did a good job.”

Jaden Springer’s defense has been on point the last couple of games. On Thursday, the reserve guard did a solid job against Jazz sixth man Jordan Clarkson. Clarkson had 16 points on 5-for-15 shooting and made just 1 of 7 three-pointers. Springer also made a huge first-half three-pointer.

He’s more comfortable on the floor than he was earlier this season, and that’s turning him into a capable three-and-D player.

“Jaden Springer came in and played some really good defense,” Nurse said. “He ran out of gas there for a minute, too, so we had some guys putting gutsy efforts at the end of the road trip.”