The road woes continued Friday night for the Utah Jazz. Behind a barrage of 3-pointers and numerous runs, the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Jazz 99-93, dropping Utah’s away record to just 1-6.
In front of a national audience, Utah came out with inconsistent energy. The Jazz went down 30-20 in the first quarter and although they enjoyed some nice runs of their own, could not sustain anything on either end of the court the rest of the way.
Utah fell to a disappointing 1-2 on this road trip, with one game remaining tomorrow against the Washington Wizards.
Perimeter defense: One the pitfalls for the Jazz was their lack of perimeter defense. Spearheaded by point guard Jrue Holiday, the Sixers’ guards and swingmen were aggressive and effective all evening. They gave a nice effort both offensively and defensively.
Holiday paced Philadelphia with 26 points, seven assists, and six steals. He was supported by backcourt mate Jason Richardson’s 20 points and eight rebounds. Nick Young and Evan Turner chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively. All in all, this quartet accounted for 69 of the Sixers’ 99 points.
Utah’s counterparts — Mo Williams, Gordon Hayward, Marvin Williams, Jamaal Tinsley and Randy Foye — managed to go just 11 for 33 from the field.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia was dialed in from long-range, connecting on 10-of-18 (55.6 percent) 3-pointers. It started early, with four treys in the first few minutes. Even more impressive was the fact that the 76ers shot very few from downtown — relatively speaking — letting their perimeter prowess open things up for their inside attack.
Junkyard Dog: If there was a highlight for the Utah Jazz, it was the play of small forward DeMarre Carroll. After registering five consecutive DNP-CDs, Carroll’s number was called and he did not disappoint.
The ever-hustling forward had a perfect shooting night, going 6 of 6 from the floor and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line, while also adding a 3-pointer. His play was integral in Utah’s big runs in both the second and fourth quarters. He also added five rebounds, two steals and a lot of heart in his 23 minutes on the court.
Odds and Ends:
- There were only 34 fouls called Friday, resulting in a combined 28 free-throw attempts.
- The two teams also took care of the ball: there were only 21 turnovers in the game.
- Paul Millsap continued his torrid outside shooting, hitting 2-of-4 3-pointers while leading Utah with 22 points.
David Smith provides instant analysis for Deseret News' Utah Jazz coverage. He works for LDS Philanthropies and also blogs for the Utah Jazz 360 website. He can be reached at mechakucha1@gmail.com or on Twitter at davidjsmith1232.