Jazz at 76ers
THE STORY: With their
lead in the Atlantic Division nearly all but gone, the Philadelphia
76ers snapped out of their funk by hammering the Boston Celtics 103-71
in a showdown for first place Wednesday. It was only the third win in 11
games for the 76ers, who will face a nemesis when the Utah Jazz visit
Friday. The Jazz have won eight of the last nine meetings with
Philadelphia, including three of four at the Wells Fargo Center.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBA TV, ROOT Sports (Jazz), CS Philadelphia (76ers)
ABOUT THE JAZZ (19-19): Utah got back to the .500 mark for the first
time since Feb. 19 with a 99-93 victory at league-worst Charlotte on
Wednesday. Al Jefferson led the way with 31 points – his third 30-point
effort – as the Jazz won for the fourth time in five games. More
impressively, the 6-foot-10, 290-pound Jefferson led the Jazz in points,
rebounds and assists in back-to-back games to help Utah pull within one
game of Minnesota and Houston for the final playoff slot in the West.
ABOUT THE 76ERS (23-17):
Coach Doug Collins gave guard Evan Turner his first start of the season
Monday and the result was a disaster – two points on 1-of-12 shooting.
Two nights later, Turner rewarded his coach's faith by scoring a
career-high 26 points in the demolition of Boston. Turner, the No. 2
overall pick in 2010, also had nine rebounds after grabbing 12 boards
Monday and will remain part of the starting unit. Reserve forward
Thaddeus Young missed Wednesday’s game with an upper-respiratory tract
infection.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Philadelphia has won a league-high 11 games by 20-plus points.
2.
The Jazz were 1 of 7 from behind the arc at Charlotte. They ranked 29th
in the league in 3-point percentage (30.1) and attempts per game
(12.3).
3. The 76ers reached 100 points for only the second time in 23 games – and the second time in the past four.