With the NBA in infinite quarantine, I am continuing my quarantine diary where I give my thoughts to a game whenever a game becomes accessible. These will become a bit more frequent now that all games have become accessible.
The 2019-20 season continues on for the Philadelphia 76ers as they head over to Salt Lake City for a showdown with the Utah Jazz. The Sixers will have Joel Embiid return from suspension in this one as they look to bounce back from their first loss of the season.
First Quarter
- The Sixers win the tip and Ben Simmons immediately gets booed by the Jazz fans. I guess they haven’t exactly gotten over Simmons winning Rookie of the Year over Donovan Mitchell.
- The Sixers have raced out to a 9-2 lead thanks to the return of Embiid and Josh Richardson. He has had a miserable start to this road trip so it would be huge for them to have him play at a high level. He is the X-Factor for them.
- Richardson, Embiid, and Furkan Korkmaz knock down consecutive triples before Richardson destroys Joe Ingles for a layup and Philadelphia leads 29-26 after one. The way Richardson has come out to start this game is so important. They need this type of performance from him.
Second Quarter
- Mitchell drills a jumper and Utah is within 38-34. He already has 12 points and we’re less than three minutes into the second quarter. That looks like it could be an issue for the Sixers going forward.
- Sheesh. Embiid goes one-on-one with Tony Bradley, gets backed into a corner, and he drills a one-legged fadeaway a la Dirk Nowitzki. He has 15 points and he looks like he has not missed any games. Normally, a guy eases his way back into things.
- Again, the Sixers defense just does not have that same sting. Rudy Gobert throws down an easy lob pass and then Bojan Bogdanovic scores inside for an easy layup. It also does not help that Simmons has just walked into the locker room holding his shoulder.
- NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Serena Winters reports that Simmons is out for the rest of the game. This is an opportunity now for Raul Neto.
- Ingles scores another easy Utah bucket before Mitchell fouls Embiid at the buzzer. After an official review, the call stands and Embiid knocks down two. Philadelphia is within 58-56 at halftime.
Third Quarter
- Brett Brown starts the second half with Richardson at the point guard spot next to Korkmaz starting. I’m not sure what Trey Burke has done to get on Brown’s bad side, but he’s really in the doghouse. As I say that, Korkmaz frees himself open for a triple and Richardson scores with the left. Philadelphia is within 62-61.
- Have to give Richardson credit for his toughness. He is not afraid to mix it up with anybody and he draws a flagrant-1 from Gobert. Without Simmons, he will have to do more. Mitchell knocks down a triple to give Utah a 71-63 lead.
- The Sixers have been trying to establish Al Horford a bit more in this second half, but he has been unsuccessful around the basket. A Mike Conley triple makes it a 74-63 lead for the Jazz now.
- Wow. Ingles shakes Richardson out of his shoes and he drills a long two at the buzzer. The Utah lead is 84-73 after three. He was shooting 33.3% from deep and 36.4% overall heading into this game. He has 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting.
Fourth Quarter
- Tobias Harris, who has had a quiet night shooting 1-for-6 through three quarters, is beginning to heat up. He has the first eight points of this quarter for Philadelphia to pull them to within 86-81.
- Neto has honestly been solid filling in for Simmons. He has done a really good job of taking care of the ball and he has shown off an offensive game as well. He has had a good road trip.
- Conley scores five straight points to give the Jazz a 97-87 lead before Mike Scott drills a triple from the top of the key and Neto drives in for a layup. The Sixers are still in this game down five, but they need to get some stops.
- Embiid is such a handful, no matter who’s guarding him. Gobert is a terrific defender, and he has had to foul Embiid on two straight possessions. The big fella has scored eight straight points and the Sixers are within 102-100 with 2:17 left. They have gotten themselves back into this game with defense and free throws.
- Bogdanovic gets open for a triple after what appears to be a miscommunication on defense. Neto was screened by Bogdanovic and it appeared he was supposed to stick with him while Harris switched on to Mitchell, but Neto stuck with Mitchell. The Jazz lead 106-101 with 1:39 left.
- Embiid gets Gobert to foul out, but he only makes one of the free throws. The Sixers then get a stop, but Richardson throws the ball away and Philadelphia takes forever to foul. They do eventually foul Mitchell and he misses both free throws with 6.3 seconds left. Brown calls for time.
- The Sixers take too long to get a shot off. Richardson makes a jumper, but it comes at the buzzer and Philadelphia falls to Utah 106-104.
Embiid returned and led the Sixers with 27 points and 16 rebounds, Richardson had 24 points, Harris had 16 points and seven rebounds, and Neto had 11 points. The Sixers will now finish up the road trip against the Denver Nuggets and they may have to battle without Simmons. [lawrence-related id=28569,28562,28555]