NBA News Wire
Jazz 105, 76ers 100
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
SALT LAKE CITY — Backup guard Alec Burks scored 26 points, including nine in a row in the final two minutes, to lead the Utah Jazz to a 105-100 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night at EnergySolutions Arena.
Burks hit 6 of 10 shots and 13 of 14 free throws for his game-high scoring night, and shooting guard Gordon Hayward contributed 17 points, seven rebounds and seven assists as the Jazz won their third game in a row.
This is the first time Utah (19-33) won more than two consecutive games all season. The Jazz’s last winning streak came when they won five in a row from March 25-April 1 last season.
Small forward Evan Turner scored 21 points for the 76ers (15-39), who dropped their eighth straight game heading into the All-Star break.
Point guard Michael Carter-Williams and power forward Thaddeus Young each scored 19 points for Philadelphia.
The 76ers, who lost their previous two games by a combined 88 points, looked like they were on their way to another blowout loss.
Utah went ahead 89-75 with nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter on an Burks jumper.
The Jazz, however, didn’t score again for six and a half minutes as the 76ers went on an 11-0 surge. Carter-Williams tied the game at 91 with a three-point play at the 2:10 mark.
Burks responded with his own nine-point run to help seal the win for the Jazz. His two-handed dunk with 22.1 seconds remaining put Utah ahead 100-91.
Guard James Anderson scored nine of his 15 points from deep in the final 18 seconds to make things interesting, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the 76ers from losing their ninth straight and 23rd of 25 outings in Utah.
Point guard Trey Burke, considered to be one of Carter-Williams’ biggest threats for Rookie of the Year award, only scored seven points on 3-of-12 shooting with just two assists.
Carter-Williams hit 6 of 13 shots and totaled eight assists, five rebounds, three blocks, two steals and three turnovers in the head-to-head battle.
The Jazz bench outscored the 76ers’ subs 56-10.
Forward Marvin Williams was one of six Jazz players in double figures, finishing with 13 points and a season-high 14 rebounds.
NOTES: Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin was asked to weigh in on the Rookie of the Year debate between Utah G Trey Burke and 76ers G Michael Carter-Williams. “I like our guy, but I can’t vote on my guy anyway. That’s not fair,” he said, smiling. “They’re both having good years for rookies so we’ll see where it ends up.” … Burke and Carter-Williams will be teammates in the Rising Stars Challenge on Friday in New Orleans during All-Star Weekend. … The 76ers played every team in the NBA except for Memphis. … Philadelphia has not swept a season-series against the Jazz since 1987-88 and has not won in Utah since Jan. 5, 2005.
