Sixers Lose 8th Straight, Fall To Jazz 105-100
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Alec Burks scored 10 of his 26 points in the final two minutes to lift the Utah Jazz to a 105-100 win over the skidding Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.
The game was tied 91-91 when the Jazz looked to Burks to create some offense. The guard made a number of acrobatic drives to the basket and capped a personal 9-0 run with a soaring dunk to make it 100-91 with 22 seconds to play.
Utah's top scorer off the bench got to the free throw line with his aggressive play, making 13 of 14 from the stripe in 22 minutes. His clutch scoring extended Utah's winning streak to three and sent the Sixers to their ninth straight road loss to the Jazz.
Evan Turner scored 21 points and Michael Carter-Williams and Thaddeus Young had 19 apiece for Philadelphia. The 76ers lost their eighth straight, the last two by more than 40 points while nearly matching the NBA mark for the largest total margin of defeat in consecutive games.
Philadelphia has given up nearly 116 points per game over the eight-game skid.
Gordon Hayward scored 17 and Marvin Williams had 13 points and 14 rebounds as the Jazz had six players score in double figures. The problem was that no one could find the hoop in the middle of the fourth quarter when they surrendered a 14-point lead.
The Sixers kept this one close until the fourth quarter, when Burks hit a 3-pointer and Richard Jefferson stole a pass and dunked for an 85-71 lead with 10:02 to play.
The 76ers then rallied, extending their defense and holding the Jazz scoreless for more than six minutes during a 13-0 run. Spencer Hawes tipped in his own miss to cap the run and then Carter-Williams converted a three-point play after Trey Burke broke Utah's drought to tie the game at 91 with 2:10 to play.
Burks had 24 to lead the Jazz over the Lakers in Los Angeles on Tuesday and then continued his instant offense in the second half the back-to-back set.
James Anderson, who had 15 points, made a trio of 3-pointers in the final 18 seconds, but it was too late after Burks' outburst.
The Sixers showed some fight in their last game before the All-Star break and the finale of a disastrous three-game road trip.
Following a 123-78 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, the 76ers fell behind by 49 points before losing 123-80 to Golden State on Monday
No other team in NBA history had lost two straight games by at least 40 points each. Philadelphia has now done it twice, having lost back-to-back games in April 1994 by a combined 93 points.
The Detroit Pistons set the record for margin of defeat in consecutive games, losing 95 points combined in back-to-back games in November 1966, according to STATS.
One highlight for Philadelphia has been the play of rookie Carter-Williams, who had eight assists and leads all rookies in scoring, rebounding and assists.
This was the first game between Carter-Williams, who was drafted 11th, and fellow lottery pick Burke (picked ninth) since their Final Four meeting in April. Burke struggled again Wednesday as he did in Michigan's 61-56 win over Syracuse, when he had seven points on 1-of-8 shooting. Burke had seven points on 3-of-12 shooting against Philadelphia.
Derrick Favors left the game in the first quarter after re-injuring his right hip. He missed a wide-open layup on the first Jazz possession of the game and never got any lift. In six minutes of play, he limped slightly and then left the game and went to the locker room.
The Jazz center has missed four other games with the hip strain and Utah had lost all six contests when Favors is out with injury.
(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)