3 observations after Sixers ride their bench to victory over Jazz originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Sixers overcame a slow start to pick up a victory Sunday night over the cellar-dwelling Jazz.
They earned a 126-122 win at Wells Fargo Center and moved to 22-41 this season. Utah dropped to 15-49.
Lonnie Walker IV posted 25 points, a career-high 11 rebounds and five assists.
Quentin Grimes had 25 points and six assists. Jared Butler added 15 points on 5-for-8 shooting and nine assists.
Both teams had an extensive list of players out with injuries. Sixers stars Paul George (left groin soreness) and Tyrese Maxey (lower back sprain) remained sidelined.
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said pregame that Kyle Lowry’s injured right hip has been feeling “a lot better.” Nurse said the team would reassess Lowry’s status after Monday night’s game in Atlanta against the Hawks.
Here are observations on the Sixers’ win Sunday:
Young Jazz jump on Sixers
The youthful Jazz seriously outplayed the Sixers in the opening minutes.
Rookie Utah point guard Isaiah Collier stole the ball from Grimes and took off the other way for an and-one layup. Rookie center Kyle Filipowski made two three-pointers over Andre Drummond. And, after Drummond missed a long-range attempt of his own, Filipowski ran ahead of the pack and threw down an and-one dunk.
His free throw gave the Jazz a 19-10 lead. Utah’s advantage grew as high as 16 points in the first quarter. The Jazz scored the night’s first eight points off turnovers and the Sixers struggled to gain any sort of foothold in the game.
The Sixers’ defense had almost no early success and broke down regularly. As soon as the Sixers shifted to zone, second-year Jazz guard Keyonte George burst past everyone for an easy layup.
All-bench unit does the trick
Nurse turned to an all-bench lineup late in the first quarter. Butler, Walker, Ricky Council IV, Alex Reese and Adem Bona played quite well as a unit, eating into Utah’s lead.
Butler played pesky on-ball defense and posted seven points in the first quarter, including a corner three and a transition layup with 1.2 seconds left in the period. Bona brought his typical energy and eagerness to swat shots. Reese converted a put-back layup and took a charge.
For good reason, Nurse stuck with the same lineup to begin the second quarter. A short Council jumper trimmed the Sixers’ deficit to 32-31. Jeff Dowtin Jr. replaced Butler early in the second quarter, made a go-ahead lay-in and added 10 quick points.
At halftime, the Sixers held a 32-13 edge in bench scoring.
Young players like Bona and Butler should receive more chances to play rotation minutes over the home stretch of the season. They handled the opportunity nicely on Sunday.
Nurse keeping an eye on minutes
Guerschon Yabusele subbed out at the 4:49 mark of the first quarter and did not see the floor again until the start of the second half. He was scoreless in 12 minutes.
Nurse said before the game that he’ll be monitoring the playing time of heavy-minute Sixers this season like Yabusele and Oubre in the weeks ahead. Drummond, who’d been questionable going into the game because of an illness, didn’t play in the second half.
Yabubsele began the third quarter at center and Walker started. Utah’s defense was leaky and the Sixers heated up from three-point range. Butler sunk two jumpers in a row and Bona then gleefully swatted a George runner attempt. Bona notched his first career double-double, tallying 14 points, 14 rebounds, five blocks and two steals.
Walker kept on producing and the Sixers passed the 100-point mark late in the third quarter. They went up 21 on a Reese three early in the fourth.
The Sixers did not have a comfortable final quarter. Nurse subbed Grimes back in for Council around the midpoint of the period. Utah cut its deficit down to six points with a little under five minutes to go.
The Jazz never let the Sixers coast to the buzzer.
Filipowski hit a three with 2.8 seconds left to trim the Sixers’ lead to two. After a timeout, Justin Edwards threw an inbounds pass to Butler. It appeared on first glance that Butler may have fumbled the ball out of bounds, but an officials’ review clearly showed that it last touched George.
Utah intentionally fouled Walker with 0.8 seconds remaining and he finally sealed the deal by knocking down both his free throws, securing the Sixers’ third win since the start of February.
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