Philadelphia’s struggles as they close to the first half of the season continued on Wednesday night in Utah. They lost to a helpless Jazz team 105-100 to go into the break on an eight game losing streak.
Though their West Coast trip has been especially difficult, they showed some fight in this one. Trailing 85-71, they rallied to make it interesting. Led by Evan Turner’s 21 points, they went on a 13-0 run and would eventually tie the game at 91.
After the last two games, Brett Brown was glad just to have a close game past the first quarter in the fourth quarter. Via Dei Lynam, it was a prideful moment for the team going into the All-Star break in a rough season.
“We got down 14 and I brought the starters back in earlier than I normally do, and we tied it up,” Brown said. “To be humbled the last few games as we had been and to be down points on the road in a loud building, I am proud of what we did.”
From there, Alec Burks would handle the rest of the scoring. He went on a personal 9-0 run to put the game out of reach and give Utah their third straight victory. James Anderson actually scored 9 of his 15 points in the final 18 seconds of the game by hitting three from beyond the arc, but the Sixers ultimately could not come all the way back.
Scoring 26 points, Burks led all scorers. Gordon Heyward had 17 and Marvin Williams had a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Michael Carter-Williams scored 19 for Philadelphia.
The 76ers will now get the next six days off before returning to action. Only one team, Milwaukee has lost more games than their 39.
