Sixers-Jazz best and worst: Tobias Harris with clutch late-game play; strong three-point defense
Harris had a team-high 10 points in the fourth quarter
Here is my look at the best and worst performances of the Sixers’ 103-94 win over the Utah Jazz that saw them improve to 15-6.
Best performance: Tobias Harris had a team-high 26 points for the Sixers. He shot 10 for 23 but also had nine rebounds and three assists (along with four turnovers). Harris recently has been a go-to scorer late in games and that was the case against the Jazz. He scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, hitting 4 of 8 shots.
Worst performance: Jazz forward Bojan Bogdanovic is one of the better long-range shooters in the NBA. He is shooting 44.9 percent from three-point range, but when he isn’t shooting well, he isn’t of great use. Against the Sixers he was just 3 for 11, including 1 for 5 from beyond the arc. He finished with nine points and three turnovers.
Best defensive performance: Jazz center Rudy Gobert is the two-time NBA defensive player of the year. Sixers center Joel Embiid shot just 5 for 13 and was more effective when Goebert would go to the bench. Gobert had 27 points and three blocked shots. He edges out the Sixers Matisse Thybulle, who had a plus-13 rating in 25 minutes, 32 seconds, along with three steals.
Worst statistic: The Jazz committed 20 turnovers. Only three of those turnovers came in the fourth quarter (all by Joe Ingles) when Utah outscored the Sixers, 28-18.
Best statistic: The Sixers contested many of Utah’s shots from three-point range. Consequently, Utah shot just 5 of 22 (22.7 percent) from deep. That is considerably below the Jazz’s 37.3 percent for the season.
Worst of the worst: In consecutive road games, the Jazz was outscored by 58 points in the first half in losses to Toronto and the Sixers. After being out scored by 40 in the first half of Sunday’s 130-110 loss in Toronto, Utah was outscored, 60-42 in the first half against the Sixers.
Best of the best: The Sixers are now 10-0 at home. Al Horford, who scored 15 of his 17 points in the first half, said that the Sixers fans “bring it every night." The players and coach Brett Brown have continually lauded the crowd for their home success. Of course, the players have something to do with it, but playing at the Wells Fargo Center is a challenging task for any Sixers opponent.