Sixers start slow but end strong in 114-97 win over Jazz

SALT LAKE CITY — JJ Redick and Joel Embiid combined for 47 points and Ben Simmons notched his fifth triple-double of the season as the 76ers beat the Utah Jazz, 114-97, on Thursday night.

The Sixers started out a little slow against the Jazz, trailing by as many as seven points in the first quarter. But the slow start quickly turned around.

Outscoring the Jazz, 35-23, in the second quarter Redick and Embiid scored 10 points apiece while the team shot 15-of-20 and took a five-point lead into halftime.

Though the matchup between Embiid and Rudy Gobert was the one most were looking forward to, and Embiid delivered an impressive defensive performance, racking up five blocks, the game became more of a shootout.

A career 41.5 percent shooter from three, Redick has had streaky performances this season shooting just 36.1 from beyond the arc. Against the Jazz he saw those struggles disappear finishing the night with a game-high 24 points including going 6-of-9 from deep.

“There were some timely shots that he made,” Brett Brown said of Redick after the game. “What I remember was, we kind of need a bucket, we kind of need a bucket, and he made some big shots, some off-balance shots, some contested shots.”

The Jazz were able to answer some of the time with their own shots by Dante Exum (20 points), Donovan Mitchell (23 points), and Kyle Korver (11 points), but the shots weren’t falling at the same pace as the Sixers, and they started to dry up as the second half wore on and as the Sixers' defense clamped down. By the end of the night the Sixers forced 16 turnovers and converted them into 26 points.

As Redick got going the rest of the Sixers followed suit and went 6-of-11 from three-point range in the third quarter. The Sixers' bench bounced back from a dismal night in Boston on Tuesday when they weren’t able to get on the board until the second half. The reserve unit finished the night 33 points, 10 of those points coming from T.J. McConnell.

“We had a lot of good contributions from the bench and overall were balanced,” Redick said. “TJ gave us great energy as always.”

The Jazz (17-19) were able to make a small run in the fourth quarter, cutting the Sixers lead to 14 points during a stretch when Simmons turned the ball over on three straight possessions and Embiid fouled out. But the Jazz run came too little too late as the Sixers were able to finish off the Utah squad with their starters resting on the bench.

“With the exception of those last few turnovers, he had a triple-double and was dominant,” Brown said of Simmons. “He really was committed defensively.”

Embiid finished the night with 23 points and 15 rebounds while Simmons posted a 13 point, 14 rebound, and 12 assist triple-double.

The Sixers improved to 23-13 on the season and continue their road trip by heading farther West for matchups against the Trail Blazers, Clippers, and Suns before returning home to play the Dallas Mavericks on Jan 5.