Ben Simmons Leaves Early With Shoulder Injury In Sixers' Loss To Jazz
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Donovan Mitchell had 24 points and eight assists, leading the Utah Jazz to a 106-104 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.
Bojan Bogdanovic added 20 points and Rudy Gobert had 14 points, 16 rebounds and three steals. Joe Ingles scored a season-high 16 off the bench for Utah, which outrebounded Philadelphia 50-42.
Joel Embiid had 27 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Sixers, who have dropped two consecutive games after a 5-0 start that made them the last unbeaten team in the NBA. Josh Richardson added a season-high 24 points and Tobias Harris chipped in with 16.
Ben Simmons did not play in the second half because of right shoulder soreness after bumping into Royce O'Neale's chest while posting up on a first-quarter play. Simmons finished with two points and two assists in 10 minutes.
The Sixers built a 44-36 early in the second quarter after Embiid scored on three straight possessions, capped by a step-back jumper. Utah chipped away at the deficit behind sharp shooting from Bogdanovic. He scored 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the second.
The Jazz finally went ahead 55-51 when Bogdanovic knocked down a pair of shots and fed Gobert for an alley-oop dunk over three straight possessions.
Utah took control in the third behind hot shooting from Mitchell. He scored back-to-back baskets to spark a 12-2 run that gave the Jazz a 78-65 lead late in the quarter. Mitchell totaled four field goals and assisted on two others during the quarter.
Embiid hit four free throws over consecutive possessions to help trim Utah's lead to 103-101 with 1:51 left. Bogdanovic hit a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession to keep Philadelphia from taking the lead. It ended up being the only outside basket the Jazz made during the quarter.
TIP-INS
76ers: Richardson had his first 20-point game of the season. . Sixers coach Brett Brown was whistled for a technical foul in the third quarter. . Raul Neto spent his first four NBA seasons with the Jazz. Neto finished with 11 points and a team-high four assists during his first game back in Utah after signing with the Sixers over the summer.
Jazz: Mitchell made his first four shots and scored 10 points in the first quarter. . Gobert was whistled for a flagrant 1 foul in the third after swinging his arm out and hitting Richardson in the face. . Utah shot its first free throws with 2:28 left in the second quarter.
UP NEXT
76ers: Play at Denver on Friday.
Jazz: Host the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.
