The Philadelphia 76ers (26-16) started their road trip against the Utah Jazz (22-24). This one came down to the wire and the Sixers pulled off a win by a score of 118-117.

Let's break down the Sixers' crazy win over the Jazz.

Sixers player notes:

Joel Embiid: 30 points, 7Ā rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 9-18 FG shooting

When Embiid last met with the Jazz, he produced one of the greatest games in NBA history. His performance tonight was far from that but still good enough to get the win. With 13 points in the first quarter, he did a lot of damage early on before hitting the big shot late in the game. One big negative from his performance was that Utah got offensive rebounds in his vicinity far too often. But with a Dirk Nowitzki-esque shot late in the game, those mistakes were erased.

James Harden: 31 points, 6Ā rebounds, 11 assists, 11-19 FG shooting

Harden finished some contested takes to the hoop and threw several beautiful dimes over his head (to both Embiid and Maxey) to open the game. He was diming up his teammates and took excellent care of the ball. In the fourth quarter, his scoring was the primary reason the Sixers were able to stay in it.

Tyrese Maxey: 21 points, 3Ā rebounds, 2 assists, 7-20 FG shooting

Maxey did most of his scoring damage from downtown. A few of his biggest shots came in the second quarter, as he connected on 3-pointers during a Jazz surge that threatened to even the score. He kept attacking downhill throughout the game but just couldn't get anything going consistently inside the arc.

Jazz player notes:

Jordan Clarkson: 38 points, 9Ā rebounds, 5 assists, 16-29 FG shooting

Clarkson took control of the Jazz offense with Lauri Markkanen sidelined. He put on some nifty moves to get to his spots and hit shots but also got his teammates involved. Although he was ice-cold from deep in the first three quartersĀ and got into some foul trouble later in the game, Utah wouldn't have kept it as close as it did without his ability to break down the defense and do a little bit of everything.

Walker Kessler: 15 points, 12Ā rebounds, 0 assists, 2 blocks, 7-7 FG shooting

The rookie center had some trouble dealing with Embiid's blend of size and agility but his confidence never wavered. He was aggressive on defense throughout the contest, using his long arms to disrupt some Philly passes and shot attempts. On offense, he did a good job running the floor and scoring near the hoop.

Talen Horton-Tucker: 20Ā points, 6Ā rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 5-10 FG shooting

THT will never be the superstar some hot-take-spewing basketball fans suggested he could be but he can certainly be a member of a good supporting cast for a long time. While recording a season-high in points, he made some key defensive plays (like a chase-down block in the third quarter and some timely rotations to halt Embiid) while leading a key run in the third quarter that made it a one-possession game.

Game notes:

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
76ers' Tyrese Maxey

Sam DiGiovanni Ā·

76ers' Nick Nurse and Tyrese Maxey angry, with a blindfold on referee John Goble

Jedd Pagaduan Ā·

Philadelphia 76ers Knicks NBA Playoffs refs officiating grievance

Peter Sampson Ā·

1st half

  • The Sixers started De'Anthony Melton in Tobias Harris' place while the Jazz went with a Mike Conley-Malik Beasley-Jordan Clarkson backcourt. Each team going with a three-guard look underscored the quick tempo that this game had to start.
  • Melton showed his versatility in one play by blocking a fadeaway jumper from Clarkson, snagging the ball, getting out in transition and finding Maxey as a trailer for a triple. Maxey hit another soon after to punctuate an 11-0 Philly run.
  • The Sixers made 10 of their first 14 shots and had 30 points well before the first quarter ended. The ball kept moving and the Sixers found opportunities to score early in the shot clock. If not for a half-court heave by Talen Horton-Tucker at the buzzer, Philly would have led by 20 after the first quarter.
  • Shake Milton was cooking off the bench, making his first five shots to put up 12 points, while Matisse Thybulle contested lots of shots well.
  • Kessler didn't shy away from the challenge of guarding Embiid and had a lot of nice sequences. He had a dunk-steal-dunk sequence to help cut the Jazz's deficit in the second quarter. Utah got it down to four at one point thanks in large part to Clarkson's tough shot-making and some strong defense.
  • The Sixers led 66-56 at halftime. The Jazz shooting just 22.7 percent from deep in the first half was a key reason why.

2nd half

  • The Jazz crashed the offensive glass with gusto to open the second half but still couldn't clip the deficit by much further. The Sixers, meanwhile, lost some of the stellar offensive flow it had to start the game but scored enough to keep its leadā€¦for a little while.
  • Talen Horton-Tucker put on a very impressive showing to get the game within single digits before Utah eventually tied it up in the fourth quarter. A nice dump-off pass to a cutting Ochai Agbaji, a floater/layup and a free throw put Utah within one before Melton stepped up by hitting a triple and feeding Maxey for a fastbreak layup.
  • Back-to-back step-back triples from Harden gave the Sixers a six-pointĀ fourth-quarter lead. He later hit a third and, after some answers from Utah, went inside the arc and hit a stepback middie. Then, he used an Embiid screen to free himself for yet another long ball. The Beard had 16 points in the first nine minutes of the fourth quarter.
  • Embiid had a brutal stretch near the end of the fourth quarter. He missed two key shots (including a dunk) and a free-throw, surrendered a drive that led to a game-tying triple and allowed a putback tip-in from Kessler that have Utah the lead with 33 seconds left. Although the putback was partly the fault of him having to step up on the shot attempt after a blown coverage, he didn't fully commit to blocking the shot or securing the rebound.
  • After Harden and Clarkson exchanged close shots, Embiid made up for his previous misses with a one-legged jumper to give Philly the lead with 4.9 seconds to go. He and P.J. Tucker contained Clarkson on the final possession to secure the win.

Random thoughts:

  • Utah's 1990s throwback look is seriously good. I somewhat understand why the franchise wouldn't just completely copy the old designs but they should have at least made their new threads inspired by them.
  • A few times throughout the game, Jazz coach Will Hardy went small against Embiid using the athletic but undersized Jarred Vanderbilt on him. The low guys on defense did a good job of pinching in when Embiid got the ball and it worked a few times. Unorthodox, savvy moves like that show that he's already one of the better coaches in the league ā€” or at least one of the most willing to try new things.

The Sixers' road trip continues tomorrow against the (potentially LeBron James-less) Los Angeles Lakers.