Fresh off their worst loss of the season, the Philadelphia 76ers (23-12) were back in action to face the Utah Jazz (17-20). The Sixers were without Joel Embiid and two other starters as they lost by a final score of 120-109.

Let's break down the Hospital Sixers' loss.

Sixers player notes:

Tyrese Maxey: 25 points, 1 rebound, 9 assists, 3 steals, 9-24 FG shooting

In the latest game without his co-star, Maxey was decently aggressive but the results were not good. He uncorked floaters that generated nothing. Since he wasn’t trying to get all the way to the hoop, he didn’t generate as many fouls as he would have liked.

In the second half, Maxey went to the hoop more and found the results he wanted. It was too little, too late, but still a nice adjustment. Otherwise, this was not anything spectacular for Maxey. While the Sixers are very overreliant on him without Embiid because the ball-handling everywhere else is so shoddy, he could (and should) have taken even more control in this one.

Patrick Beverley: 12 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 5-13 FG shooting

Beverley ran the offense like the Navy during his minutes. The discipline he instilled was badly needed with the Sixers' rotation thrown together at the last minute. Even with some ugly misses sprinkled in, he was a stabilizer for a Philly team that urgently needed one.

Jazz player notes:

Lauri Markkanen: 33 points, 13 rebounds, 1 assist, 12-19 FG shooting

The Jazz star led his Island of Misfit Potential Trade Targets with some physical buckets down low and some smooth jumpers from deep, a dichotomy that will make teams want to keep inquiring about his availability. With no Embiid, he was the one who gave Philly a 30-point-10-board performance to watch.

Game recap:

1st half

If you'll recall, Embiid had himself quite the game last time he played the Jazz at home on the second night of a back-to-back in the City Edition threads. Unfortunately, he did not get the chance to repeat his epic performance after tweaking his left knee in yesterday’s loss to the New York Knicks and being ruled out due to swelling in the knee that developed earlier today. Now he can only miss nine more games and still qualify for the league awards.

The Sixers barely had any time to process their embarrassing loss. A new game awaited them, even if it wasn’t a super imposing team in their way, though a slew of injuries left them very shorthanded. Tobias Harris, De'Anthony Melton, Robert Covington and Furkan Korkmaz were also out. The starting lineup consisted of Maxey, Oubre, Nicolas Batum, Marcus Morris Sr. and Paul Reed.

Morris guarded Markkanen while Maxey took Collin Sexton. The Jazz put Kris Dunn on Maxey and got out to a strong start, pushing the pace to score. Even in the halfcourt, they were able to get right to the cup. Philly’s offense was far too devoid of Maxey, allowing Morris to wander into mid-range jumpers with no discernable rhythm in the unit as a whole. Reed took middies on multiple possessions, though both found the bottom of the net.

Beverley and Mo Bamba were first off the Sixers bench as they went on a run to draw closer. Jaden Springer followed soon after to round out a three-guard lineup with Maxey. PatBev managed to get the offense going in the pick-and-rolls, resulting in dump-off or kick-out passes that went unfinished too often. Springer failed to punish Utah for being left wide open from deep, contributing to the Sixers' poor shooting from the floor.

The Sixers may have let the Jazz shoot at a high clip to start but they forced scores of turnovers to take control of the possession battle. They also stayed busy on the offensive glass. They took their first lead of the game on a Beverley triple as Utah's offense ground to a halt. Jordan Clarkson time didn’t produce great results from the field even, though he was able to get to the foul line.

Despite the score continuing to be close, the Jazz and Sixers were opposites in terms of their scoring efficiency, particularly at the rim. Whether it was dragging Reed close to the perimeter or getting lobs over his head to guys like John Collins, Utah had few issues. But when Beverley wasn’t breaking out his skyhook-esque runner, the Sixers often came away empty on shots in or near the paint. Yet, through the power of forcing turnovers and fighting for rebounds (and friendship, too, maybe), they hung in there.

At the half, the Sixers trailed 58-57. They shot 38.9 percent from the field to Utah's 55.0 percent but got 14 more shot attempts.

2nd half

Maxey pulled up for a jumper to start the second half rather than go for a floater. He also swerved through the defense to get right to the rim for a pretty layup. Avoiding floater range did some good for him, though Sexton did damage for Utah, dishing and scoring the ball to maintain the lead.

A 19-8 run from the Jazz fueled by Sexton's dishing and swishing, plus some scoring from Markkanen, created a lead that was only moderate in size but felt nearly insurmountable given how the Sixers were playing. They went over four minutes with just as many points, which all came from Oubre layups, as Bamba did nothing to deter the Jazz from scoring inside. Philly tried some Morris-at-center looks but they weren’t able to take advantage of the extra space.

Oubre's breakaway buckets gave him 12 points in the third quarter and kept the deficit within single digits to start the fourth quarter. With Martin at the five, Clarkson ripped off a quick seven points and Walker Kessler got an open lob, sending Paul Reed back in immediately.

Kessler's size, pace-pushing layups from Sexton and some good playmaking from rookie Keyonte George helped the Jazz increase the lead to double figures. The Sixers looked out of gas as the Jazz, who were also on the second night of a back-to-back — and they had to travel from Boston — played with more energy down the stretch. Looking as disorganized as the Sixers did in this game is inexcusable against a middling team like Utah, injuries be darned.

The Sixers managed to stick around and threaten to make a late surge but couldn’t come up with any points besides a Maxey layup for two and a half minutes. Their first home back-to-back featured two rough losses.

Random rumblings:

  • Shoutout to the Wells Fargo Center staffers who had to change the hardwood to ice for an afternoon game and then back to hardwood for this one.

The Sixers will now have some days off before traveling to face the Atlanta Hawks for a Wednesday matchup.