Jazz at 76ers
Teams coming off tough road losses meet when the Philadelphia 76ers begin a five-game homestand against the Utah Jazz on Friday. The Jazz had their three-game win streak snapped Wednesday at Boston when Tyler Zeller scored at the buzzer, while the 76ers got victimized by Russell Westbrook’s 49 points in an overtime loss to Oklahoma City. "You walk a line of frustration and one of, you become a fan," 76ers coach Brett Brown said of Westbrook. "You just look at that and you scratch your head."
Utah, despite the loss to Boston, is playing its best basketball of the season, winning seven of 10 games, including victories against New Orleans, Portland, San Antonio, Milwaukee and Memphis. Since the All-Star break, the Jazz are yielding the fewest points per game (83) in the NBA. Philadelphia, despite a great all-around effort in the 123-118 loss against Oklahoma City, lost its third straight game and eighth in its last nine.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN Philadelphia, ROOT (Utah)
ABOUT THE JAZZ (24-36): Trey Burke scored 16 points and fellow reserve Rodney Hood added 13 in the 85-84 loss to Boston. Led by Burke’s 12.9 points per game since moving to the bench, Utah's reserves have upped their scoring output from 27.5 points to 38 points per contest. "One of the things that's nice right now is you have a bench and it's a cohesive bench," Jazz coach Quin Snyder told the Salt Lake Tribune. "It's hard sometimes for a player with rotations not always the same; you want to smooth it out a little bit, because I think it helps players to have an idea of when they're playing and with whom."
ABOUT THE 76ERS (13-48): Philadelphia couldn’t hold a 15-point, third-quarter lead against Oklahoma City despite career highs of 31 points and eight 3-pointers from newcomer Isaiah Canaan and 29 points from seldom-used Jason Richardson - his biggest output since Feb. 2012. “The thing that I most get pleased with is that no matter who comes in that locker room, there’s enough carryover with the people that we have that they can help recreate and re-explain the culture,” Brown said. “We’re trying to build a program, and we’re trying to build it through defense and a fighting-type spirit. And I’m proud of that.” Philadelphia hopes to get back sharpshooter Robert Covington, who missed his second straight game with an elbow injury.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Jazz have won four straight in the series, including an 88-71 decision on Dec. 27 behind 17 points and 15 rebounds by Derrick Favors and 17 points from Burke.
2. In attempt to join David Robinson as the only rookies to average 1.5 steals and blocks, Sixers C Nerlens Noel currently leads all rookies in steals (1.61) and blocks (1.89).
3. Jazz C Rudy Gobert has scored 63 points on 22-of-37 shooting with 72 rebounds and 15 blocks in his last four games, and his 83 blocks since Jan. 1 is the most in the NBA.