"Best" and "Worst" awards: Sixers vs. Jazz
"Best" and "Worst" Awards: Sixers vs. Jazz
The Utah Jazz continued their improvement with Friday's 89-83 win over the 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center. Now 25-36 the Jazz already matched their win total from last year. A 23-13 third quarter was the difference. Here is our "Best" and "Worst" of the game.
Best performance: Another easy choice, Jazz forward Gordon Hayward had 25 points, hitting 7 of 16 from the field, 9 of 10 from the foul line and 2 of 3 from beyond the arc. He also had nine rebounds and four assists. Hayward set the tone early with 12 first quarter points, including two three-pointers.
Worst performance: Sixers guard Jason Richardson has been a warrior in returning after being out more than two years due to knee and foot injuries. Coming off a 29-point performance in Wednesday's 123-118 OT loss at Oklahoma City, Richardson couldn't sustain the effort. He went scoreless, shooting 0 for 10 from the field, including four misses from beyond the arc. He also had four personal fouls.
Best performance in a losing effort: Luc Mbah a Moute had 14 points in 29 minutes but also contributed three assists and four steals. He was one of the few accurate shooters for the Sixers, hitting 5 of 10 from the field and 3 of 6 from beyond the arc.
Best defensive player: Rudy Gobert, the Jazz's 7-foot-1, 220-pound athletic center, had just one blocked shots, but he altered countless others. Gobert showed great lateral quickness and got a hand in the face of many shooters. He also controlled the boards, with 15 rebounds.
Best statistic: The Jazz went to the free throw line a season-high 41 times. They made 29 (70.7 percent). The Sixers had trouble with the Jazz frontcourt. The trio of Hayward, Gobert and Derrick Favors went to the foul line 22 ties, making 17.
Best statistics Part II: Utah shot 6 for 12 from three point range.
Worst statistic: The Sixers were 9 of 18 from the foul line.
Worst of the Worst: The Sixers perimeter game never got untracked. They were 32 for 88 from the field (36.4 percent) including 10 of 32 (31.3 percent) from three-point range.
Notable: Sixers forward Thomas Robinson had 11 points and 12 rebounds in 15 minutes. It was the sixth double-double of his career…Nerlens Noels (10 points, 11 rebounds) had his 10th double-double of the season….The Jazz have now won five straight over the Sixers.