PLAYER GRADES: Philadelphia 76ers 113, Utah Jazz 107
By AJ Iezzi
The Philadelphia 76ers’ home court advantage remains alive and well. A hot start wound up being a close game that was decided late in the fourth quarter. The Sixers capitalized on a rowdy crowd and earned a win for Jimmy Butler’s home debut.
RING THAT BELL, JIMMY BUTLER.
After a disappointing loss in Orlando, where a double-digit lead was squandered, the Philadelphia 76ers pulled out a win against a struggling Utah Jazz team. The Sixers executed in the fourth quarter and finally made plays in decisive moments. Fourth quarter collapses have become all too familiar for Sixers fans.
Jimmy Butler was excellent in his South Philly debut. His game encapsulated all of the things that make him who he is. He was finishing at the rim, hitting tough shots, and hounding opposing ball handlers. Butler’s late-game heroics were huge. He made clutch shots and harassed Donovan Mitchell for the majority of the quarter.
The Sixers started off 8-8 from the floor and made 87 percent of their first quarter shots. Slow starts in the second and third quarters put the game “on the see-saw” as Marc Zumoff would say. The Sixers’ late-game performance was a breath of fresh air, compared to their infamous fourth quarter blunders.
SG/SF. Philadelphia 76ers. JIMMY BUTLER. A+. <strong>38 mins | 28 pts | 3 reb | 7 ast | 2 stl | 0 blk | 3 TO | 12-15 FG | 2-3 3PT| 2-5 FT | 2 PF | +12 |</strong><p>Jimmy Butler was an absolute machine tonight. Embiid and Simmons weren’t at their best and the Sixers <em>FINALLY</em> have a player that can shoulder the load when they’re not on their game. Butler had his fingerprints all over this game.From start to finish he was phenomenal on both sides of the ball. 12-15 from the floor is hyper efficient, and many of those shots he had to work hard for. His perimeter defense on <a rel=
B. <strong>26 mins | 23 pts | 7 reb | 2 ast | 2 stl | 3 blk | 1 TO | 7-20 FG | 1-4 3PT| 8-9 FT | 4 PF | +23 |</strong><p><a rel=. C. Philadelphia 76ers. JOEL EMBIID
WILSON CHANDLER. C+. <strong>22 mins | 2 pts | 5 reb | 0 ast | 0 stl | 0 blk | 2 TO | 1-3 FG | 0-1 3PT| 0-0 FT | 3 PF | +18 |</strong><p><a rel=. SF/PF. Philadelphia 76ers
B. <strong>34 mins | 16 pts | 2 reb | 1 ast | 1 stl | 0 blk | 3 TO | 5-9 FG | 1-3 3PT| 5-7 FT | 4 PF | +10 |</strong><p>JJ Redick had yet another efficient offensive outing. His five free throws were huge in determining the final outcome. His assist to a dunking Jimmy Butler in the fourth quarter was one of the game’s highlights. Three attempts from beyond the arc seems like a low number for Redick, but his long-twos and layups did the job. Redick tied up the game with two free throws with less than two minutes remaining. He more than made up for his miscues late in the Orlando game.</p>. SG. Philadelphia 76ers. JJ REDICK
B. <strong>36 mins | 10 pts | 8 reb | 8 ast | 1 stl | 1 blk | 3 TO | 4-9 FG | 0-0 3PT| 2-5 FT | 2 PF | +15 |</strong><p><a rel=. PG. Philadelphia 76ers. BEN SIMMONS
The Sixers shot 50 percent from the floor, 47- ercent from three, and 62.5 percent from the foul line. 25 of the Sixers’ 41 field goals were assisted on. The team surrendered 17 turnovers, while scoring 20 off of Utah’s turnovers.
The Utah Jazz had a paltry offensive night. Donovan Mitchell (who is still not Rookie of the Year) was 13-35 from the floor and finished with 31 points and zero assists. Joe Ingles chipped in with 14 points, while Ricky Rubio and Derrick Favors each had 13.
The Simmons-to-Butler set-play to ice the game will be one of several plays that will end up as SportsCenter material, but two others that had great impacts on the game were:
1) Markelle Fultz collecting his own floor-board off of a missed free throw, and dished to Jimmy Butler for an and-one layup (00:05 3Q).
2) Embiid poking the ball lose in transition leading to a Jimmy Butler dunk, which would not have happened if Muscala didn’t keep the play alive by crashing the offensive glass after the missed free throw.
Hustle matters.
The Sixers will travel to Charlotte for their Saturday night matchup. This will be their third contest against Charlotte, and their 18th game of the season. Both of those statements are ridiculous for the middle of November.
Next. Where do the Sixers rank in the East?. dark
But you know what’s not ridiculous? Jimmy Butler just won a game in a Sixers uniform. Let the fun begin.