Hill, Jazz cruise past 76ers
SALT LAKE CITY -- George Hill scored 21 points, collected eight rebounds and dished out six assists in his return, helping the Utah Jazz defeat the Philadelphia 76ers 100-83 on Thursday night.
Gordon Hayward and Rodney Hood added 20 points apiece to propel the Jazz to their second straight victory. Utah (20-13) held the Sixers to just nine fourth-quarter points.
Trailing by four points after three quarters, Utah raced away by outscoring the Sixers 21-2 over the first six minutes of the fourth period. Hood ignited the run with back-to-back baskets that gave the Jazz the lead for good. Hill finished it off with a pull-up jumper, putting Utah up 91-76 with 5:57 remaining.
Ersan Ilyasova had 16 points and 12 rebounds to lead Philadelphia. Nerlens Noel and Dario Saric chipped in 14 points apiece off the bench. The Sixers (7-24) shot just 4 of 23 from the floor in the final 12 minutes.
Utah sprinted out front in the first quarter behind 3-pointers from Hayward and Rodney Hood. The Jazz eventually took a 22-14 lead after Boris Diaw made a layup and Rudy Gobert followed with a dunk one possession later.
Philadelphia rallied and closed out the quarter on a 10-0 run. The Sixers took their first lead when Hollis Thompson banked in a 3-pointer to make it 24-22.
Both teams traded baskets and the lead throughout a second quarter featuring six lead changes. Utah pulled ahead for the last time in the half when Hayward converted a three-point play to give the Jazz a 44-42 lead. Okafor answered by driving for a layup on the other end, and Saric then scored back-to-back baskets to put Philadelphia ahead 49-44 with 1:32 left before halftime.
The Sixers dominated in the paint to match Utah blow for blow. Philadelphia held a 32-10 advantage over the Jazz in points in the paint in the first half.
Utah went ahead 61-58 in the third quarter on back-to-back baskets from Hill and Gobert. The Jazz later took a 70-69 lead on back-to-back baskets from Hayward. Each time, the Sixers answered. They took a 74-70 lead into the fourth quarter after Sergio Rodriguez answered Hayward's 3-pointer with one of his own and Nerlens Noel followed with a dunk on the next possession.
NOTES: G George Hill returned to the Utah starting lineup after missing 13 games with a sprained toe. ... Jazz C Joel Embiid (rest) and Gerald Henderson (left hip) were both sidelined. ... Utah G Joe Ingles was averaging 9.8 points per game and shooting 53.7 percent from the perimeter in December before Thursday. He made 1 of 2 long-range attempts against the 76ers and scored three points. ... Philadelphia F Ersan Ilyasova has made at least one 3-pointer in 28 consecutive games, the second longest streak in the NBA this season. ... Utah C Rudy Gobert's streak of 11 consecutive double-doubles ended Thursday when he had nine points and 13 rebounds. IT was the longest streak by a Utah player since Paul Millsap recorded 19 straight in 2008-09.