PHILADELPHIA – Playing in their home opener for the 2015-16 NBA season, the Philadelphia 76ers largely disappointed in front of their 17,122 attending fans at the Wells Fargo Center.
Trailing for the majority of the contest against the Utah Jazz, the Sixers were ultimately defeated by a margin of 28 points, 99-71, to fall to 0-2 on the season.
Tonight off the bench in his Sixers debut, guard Nik Stauskas shot 3-6 from the floor, 2-3 beyond the arc, with three rebounds, two assists, and four converted free-throws to yield a total of 12 points.
Throughout the entire game, the Sixers held the lead just twice — a successfully converted free-throw attempt by guard Isaiah Canaan with 7:58 remaining in the first quarter, and a 26-foot three point jumper by Stauskas approximately one minute later.
Stauskas, the eighth overall pick of the 2014 NBA Draft, was acquired from the Sacramento Kings this offseason, along with Carl Landry, Jason Thompson and a 2018 first round draft pick.
The 22-year-old Canada native was sidelined during the season opener with back spasms and a foot injury.
Jahlil Okafor, the third overall pick from this year's draft, missed eight of his 12 shot attempts and secured just six rebounds, five of which occurring on defense. Nerlens Noel wasjust two points shy of recording back-to-back double-doubles, as he grabbed 10 boards and put up eight points on the night.
Turnovers proved to be costly for the Sixers tonight, as the they committed 18 as opposed to just seven by the Jazz.
Game Notes:
- Final Score: Jazz 99, Sixers 71
- Halftime Score: Jazz 50, Sixers 33
- Shooting: Jazz 36-88 (40.9%), Sixers 19-63 (30.2%)
- Free Throws: Jazz 20-25 (80.0%), Sixers 27-37 (73.0%)
- Three Pointers: Jazz 7-13 (53.8%), Sixers 6-15 (40.0%)
- Turnovers: Jazz 7, Sixers 18
- Rebounds: Jazz 51, Sixers 39
- Assists: Jazz 19, Sixers 15
- Steals: Jazz 10, Sixers 4
- Blocks: Jazz 8, Sixers 5
Jazz Starting Five:
- Raul Neto | PG | 21 min, 2-5 FGM-A, 3 ast, 3 stl, 7 pts
- Gordon Hayward | SG | 31 min, 3-12 FGM-A, 7 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 12 pts
- Rodney Hood | SG | 23 min, 6-14 FGM-A, 1 ast, 17 pts
- Derrick Favors | PF | 29 min, 6-17 FGM-A, 12 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl, 2 blk, 20 pts
- Rudy Gobert | C | 32 min, 3-6 FGM-A, 11 reb, 2 ast, 6 blk, 8 pts
Sixers Starting Five:
- Isaiah Canaan | PG | 31 min, 1-9 FGM-A, 5 reb, 2 ast, 10 pts
- Hollis Thompson | SG | 32 min, 3-7 FGM-A, 4 reb, 1 ast, 10 pts
- JaKarr Sampson | SG | 20 min, 1-3 FGM-A, 4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 3 pts
- Nerlens Noel | C | 36 min, 2-12 FGM-A, 10 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 8 pts
- Jahlil Okafor | C | 36 min, 4-12 FGM-A, 6 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 10 pts
Atlantic Division Standings:
- Boston Celtics (1-0)
- Toronto Raptors (1-0)
- New York Knicks (1-1); 0.5 GB
- Philadelphia 76ers (0-2); 1.5 GB
- Brooklyn Nets (0-1); 1 GB
What's Next:
- Monday, Nov. 2, 2015: vs. Cleveland Cavaliers, 7 p.m. EST
- TV: CSN; Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
- Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015: at Milwaukee Bucks, 8 p.m. EST
- TV: CSN; Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
- Friday, Nov. 6, 2015: at Cleveland Cavaliers, 7:30 p.m. EST
- TV: CSN; Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Matt Rappa (@mattrappasports) is a contributor to Sixerdelphia.com.
