Joel Embiid’s heroics, James Harden’s massive fourth lift the Sixers to a 118-117 win over the Jazz

SALT LAKE CITY — Joel Embiid’s night began surrounded by the Utah Jazz dance team, who executed their pregame routine even as the 76ers star bobbed his head with his hands on his hips near midcourt.

It ended with the All-NBA big man fading away for a go-ahead jumper, then swarming Jordan Clarkson to force a desperate misfire right before the buzzer.

That all lifted the Sixers out a stretch run that coach Doc Rivers called “hell” and to a 118-117 victory Saturday night Vivint Arena.

“I had to make it,” Embiid said of his game-winner. “Just had to make it, especially with the way we played tonight.”

Embiid finished with 30 points and seven rebounds, while James Harden scored 18 of his 31 points in the final frame for the Sixers (26-16). It all was needed to fend off the shorthanded Jazz (22-24), who rallied from a 20-point first-quarter deficit and from down eight in the last period to create a frenetic final minutes.

Utah veteran guard Mike Conley first ignited the crowd with a three-pointer that tied the score, 113-113, with less than two minutes to play, and then the lead changed four times. Embiid went 1-of-2 from the free throw line, Utah rookie Walker Kessler elevated for a tip-in, Harden hit a driving shot, and Clarkson made a jumper to give the Jazz a 117-116 advantage with 13.3 seconds remaining.

Utah first erased its hole when a jumper by Clarkson — who put together his own terrific fourth with 17 of his 38 points to keep his team within striking distance — tied the score, 90-90 at the 10:01 mark. But the Sixers answered with an 8-2 spurt, including two trademark step-back threes by Harden to recreate a 98-92 cushion.

Another Harden three-pointer gave the Sixers a 101-93 lead with 7:36 left. Then a midrange jumper put his team up, 103-98, about a minute later. He hit another trey to push that advantage to 108-100 with 5:26 remaining .

“It gave me an opportunity to shoot,” Harden said of the Jazz’s switch-heavy defense. “It’s something that I work on every single day. I worked on it this morning. It was just an opportunity for me to raise up, and I did and got a couple to fall. And it opened up for everything else.”

The Sixers initially took a 41-21 lead on a Montrezl Harrell bucket late in the first quarter, before the Jazz used a strong second frame to slash that advantage to 56-52 on a Nickeil Alexander-Walker alley-oop layup with about two minutes remaining in the half. The Sixers, though, finished the half on a 10-4 run, including a banked-in three-pointer by Embiid to push the lead back to double digits at 66-56.

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In the third quarter, the Jazz got within 81-80 when Talen Horton-Tucker made two consecutive buckets and a free throw, before De’Anthony Melton connected on a three to spark seven consecutive Sixers points.

Tyrese Maxey made five of his first seven three-pointers but shot 7 of 20 from the floor to finish with 21 points.

The Sixers played without forward Tobias Harris, who nursed a sore left knee injured during Thursday’s home loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder. But the Jazz were even more shorthanded while playing on the second night of a back-to-back, playing without star forward Lauri Markkanen and veteran big man Kelly Olynyk, who would have been the primary defender on Embiid.

The Sixers continue their longest road trip of the season Sunday at the Los Angeles Lakers. After that, they play Tuesday at the Los Angeles Clippers, Thursday at the Portland Trail Blazers, and Saturday at the Sacramento Kings.

The first time Embiid faced the Jazz this season, he compiled one of the most eye-popping stat lines for a big man in NBA history in the best regular-season game of his career.

Embiid could not quite replicate his 59 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, and seven blocks. But he surely will take the game-winner on a night he was constantly double-teamed.

He scored 13 points in the first quarter, including a dunk and layup through contact that helped give the Sixers a 36-21 lead late in the period.

It’s also no coincidence that Embiid’s quiet second quarter — he scored just five points — coincided with the Jazz’s surge to get back in the game.

Kessler, meanwhile, largely asserted himself after the first quarter. He notched his seventh double-double of the season, with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Before his go-ahead tip-in late in the game, he swatted away a Shake Milton shot at the rim.

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The Sixers’ 41 first-quarter points were the most in an opening frame since a March 2021 game against Sacramento.

They were sharp on both ends of the floor during the frame. They made six of their first nine three-point attempts, shot 65.2% overall from the floor, and only committed one turnover. The Jazz, meanwhile, connected on just 37.5% of their field goals, including a 3-of-14 mark from long range.

Embiid anchored the Sixers during the quarter, with 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting and 4-of-6 from the free-throw line. Harden also dished out six assists during the period.

The Sixers, though, only scored 47 points in the second and third quarters combined, allowing Utah to get back in the game.

“I swear, the first six minutes, everything we did, guys were in the right spot, the cuts were right, the passes were right,” Rivers said. “And then I thought we kind of got out of that. So I can’t wait to watch why. Was it something that they did that we can make an adjustment to?

“A lot of times … guys just start getting too smart for our own self, and I thought a little bit of that happened as well.”

After missing shootaround with a non-COVID illness, Georges Niang, a former Jazz player, clearly was in good spirits as he made the rounds at his old home arena following his pregame shooting routine.

Niang received a warm round of applause when announced as a sub in the first quarter, then went scoreless on 0-for-3 shooting in 12 minutes. One of those misfires was an open three with his team clinging to an 81-79 lead late in the third quarter.

Milton, however, was the Sixers’ biggest spark plug off the bench, and, without Harris, took a spot in the closing lineup. He made his first five shots and totaled 17 points. Milton said Rivers looked at him during a late timeout to encourage him to continue being aggressive. After getting blocked by Kessler, Milton hit a massive three-pointer that put the Sixers up, 113-108.

“Even bigger than that, it’s just staying ready and not getting too high or too low,” Milton said. “It could take anybody to a bad place getting their shot blocked and them going down and hitting a big score. But just staying locked in, having that sense of equanimity and just being calm and being ready.”