Philadelphia 76ers vs. Utah Jazz Preview
Earlier in the week, the Philadelphia 76ers ended their two-game win streak in a difficult 114-133 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, who Philadelphia took down on New Year's Eve.
The loss came at the hands of a terrific showing from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 37 points on 62 percent shooting while dishing out six assists to his teammates.
His teammates took advantage of his vision, with four other players from Oklahoma City putting up double-digit points including Josh Giddey, who scored an even 20 on Thursday night.
Joel Embiid and James Harden tried to make up the deficit, combining for 54 points, but to no avail. Tobias Harris and Shake Milton struggled to find their rhythm on the court, with both players shooting below 40 percent.
While Embiid finds himself off of the injury report for Saturday's match, despite showing signs of discomfort at different points while on the court against the Thunder.
Harris finds himself listed as out with soreness in his left knee and is joined by Georges Niang, who could miss a reunion with his former team as he is currently listed as questionable with a non-COVID-related illness.
On the other side of the ticket sits the Utah Jazz, who come into Saturday night off of a close win over the Orlando Magic. Lauri Markkanen led the Western side in the scoring with 28 points, with Colin Sexton putting up an impactful 18 points off the bench.
The last meeting between the Jazz and Sixers saw Embiid put up his career-high 56 points in a hard-fought victory for Doc Rivers' side back in November.
Declan Harris contributes to All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him on Twitter: @DecIanH.
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