Utah Jazz overcome 24 turnovers to beat 76ers on road

PHILADELPHIA — The Utah Jazz caught a break before Saturday's game started. The NBA's leading scorer and reigning MVP, Joel Embiid, was ruled out along with Tobias Harris.

The Jazz, though, almost gave away the advantage — literally. Utah committed 24 turnovers against the Philadelphia 76ers.

In most games, that would have meant a sure loss — just not Saturday.

The Jazz were able to overcome all those giveaways to beat the 76ers 120-109 to improve to 17-20 on the season.

How?

Well, when the Jazz didn't turn the ball over, they were an impressive bunch. Utah finished with 30 assists as a team and shot 76% in 2-point field goals. That type of efficiency helped overcome some turnover woes.

After Friday's blowout loss to the Celtics, Jazz coach Will Hardy said he wished his team had been more physical at the rim. Sure, he said, Boston had some good rim protectors, but he thought his team let them off the hook.

It didn't take long for the Jazz to show Saturday would be different. On Utah's first possession, Lauri Markkanen drove through traffic for a contested layup at the rim. It was a powerful move that set the tone for the rest of the night.

The Jazz feasted in the paint, where they shot 78% and scored 72 points.

"Our offensive execution tonight, outside of the turnovers, was good," Hardy said. "They're a little bit of a different team when Embiid doesn't play, and I thought our team did a good job of continuing to attack the paint, both off the dribble and playing off the ball. It was a great win for us on a back-to-back, coming off of a tough game last night."

Pick a player and they probably had some moments attacking the paint.

Markkanen, who had 33 points and 13 rebounds, was 7-of-10 around the basket, including three dunks. Collin Sexton had five layups on his way to a 22-point night; he also added 10 assists.

Jordan Clarkson, meanwhile, went 5-of-7 from inside the paint to finish with 18 points, six assists and five rebounds. He scored 7 straight points in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter — which included three buckets in the paint — to help Utah build a 15-point lead.

"We started off with the first punch, and every possession I feel like we got better," Sexton said.

But maybe no player exploited how weak Philadelphia's interior defense was without Emiid than John Collins. The athletic forward seemed to have a free run at the rim all night.

He was 7-of-7 in the restricted area, with six of those being uncontested dunks. He was able to use his speed to roll past Philly's drop coverage and also beat the Sixers with some back cuts. He finished with 19 points on 90% shooting.

"John's been working really hard adjusting to a new role and a new team, and so nights like this make you feel good for him because he really does work hard," Hardy said. "He doesn't make excuses, he's dealt with some tough moments. He's dealt with having, at times, less minutes than he's used to based on what happens in the game. But he's really mature and has been a great presence in our locker room. Obviously, happy that he had a good game tonight."

And he and the team are happy there was enough good Saturday to overcome a glaring turnover issue.

"We all know one player isn't going to win the game," Sexton said. "It's a group effort."

Related topics