|
 Guard-forward Gordon Hayward scored 22 points and guard Alec
Burks added 19 off the bench as the Jazz beat the Philadelphia 76ers
104-92, extending the Sixers' losing streak to 16 games.
Burks' 3-pointer with 2:36 left snapped a 91-91 tie and Hayward
added two three-point plays in the final minute as Utah (22-41) won
the last game of a six-game trip. The Jazz had lost their previous
six on the road in all and are now 8-25 away from home this season.
"It was big for us," Hayward said. "(It was a) rough road trip. The
last game on a six-game trip, we could have let this one slide, too,
so I thought it was good that we battled, we fought and we pulled it
out."
Forward Derrick Favors had 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Jazz,
which scored 13 of the game's last 14 points. Backup center Enes
Kanter contributed 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Guard Tony Wroten made 12 of 15 shots from the field and had a
career-high 30 points for the Sixers (15-47). Forward Thaddeus Young
added 18 points.
Philadelphia's losing streak is its longest since a 20-game skid
during the 1972-73 season when the Sixers finished 9-73. They have
also dropped a franchise-record 13 in a row at home.
"My biggest fear is you end up losing the group, because of the
situation," coach Brett Brown said. "It does scare me."
The Jazz, leading 75-70 after three quarters, extended their margin
to 84-73 on a basket by Burks with 8:42 left. Young and Wroten then
accounted for all but two of the points as Philadelphia outscored
Utah 18-7 during a six-minute span, drawing even at 91-91 on
Wroten's fast-break dunk with 2:53 to play.
After a Utah timeout, Burks took a pass from Trey Burke in the left
corner and knocked down his go-ahead triple.
Hayward had the ball at the top of the circle at the start of the
pivotal sequence, but when he started to drive, Burke's defender
sagged off him. Hayward fired the ball to Burke on the left wing,
and he in turn found Burks.
"We had a primary part (of the play), and a secondary part," coach
Tyrone Corbin said. "I think Gordon and Trey did a great job of
swinging it and hitting Alec in the corner. He was ready for the
shot."
Added Burks, "I was wide-open. I shot it. It happened to go in."
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A three-point play by Hayward with 57.8 seconds left extended the
Jazz's lead to 97-91. After a free throw by Philadelphia's Henry
Sims, Hayward had another three-point play with 34.5 seconds to
play, swelling the Utah advantage to 100-92.
"The first one, I might have got away with one," Hayward said. "That
was questionable, whether it was a charge or a block (on Young). The
second one was just a play in the open court."
The Sixers assumed an early 13-9 lead behind Young's seven points
and were still up 22-19 late in the first quarter before the Jazz
reeled off 10 straight points, half of those by backup guard Diante
Garrett, to assume a 29-22 advantage early in the second quarter.
Utah's lead was 50-46 late in the half, but the Sixers scored the
last six points of the second quarter, including an alley-oop dunk
by guard-forward James Anderson off a feed from guard Michael
Carter-Williams. Anderson's two free throws with 0.6 of a second
remaining let Philadelphia claim a 52-50 lead at the break.
Wroten made all six of his shots from the field in the first half
and scored 13 points for the Sixers. Young had 11.
Burks scored 12 points and Garrett had 11 for Utah in the opening
half.
The Jazz reclaimed the lead at 59-55 after a 9-0 run early in the
third quarter, one that featured a tip-in and dunk by Favors. By
quarter's end, Utah was up 75-70 as Favors and forward Marvin
Williams each had seven points in the quarter.
NOTES: Harvey Pollack, the 76ers' legendary director of statistical
information, turns 92 on Sunday. He was saluted with a cake in the
media room before the game and an announcement during the first
half. ... Sixers coach Brett Brown said he has been impressed to
date by the work of C Henry Sims, acquired in a trade two weeks ago
from Cleveland. "He's got a toughness and I think an intellect,
basketball-wise, that you see as time unfolds," Brown said. ... Jazz
rookie PG Trey Burke is an Allen Iverson fan, and Utah coach Tyrone
Corbin said he hopes Burke can adopt the same aggressive mindset as
the retired Sixers star, who Corbin called "one of the toughest
little guys" ever to play in the NBA. "But he has to practice,"
Corbin added with a smile, a reference to Iverson's famed rant about
that topic, from more than a decade ago.
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