Tyrese Maxey scored 25 points and Quentin Grimes made a pair of clutch free throws to lift the Philadelphia 76ers to a 106-102 victory over the visiting Utah Jazz on Wednesday.
Jabari Walker contributed 22 points and 10 rebounds for Philadelphia, which played without Joel Embiid (oblique), Kelly Oubre Jr. (illness), VJ Edgecombe (back) and Paul George (suspension). Maxey shot just 8 of 22 from the field, but he received enough assistance — including 16 points from Grimes — to help the Sixers avoid a third straight defeat.
Utah, which has lost seven games in a row, was led by Keyonte George’s 30 points. Isaiah Collier scored 18 points, Ace Bailey added 12 and Blake Hinson chipped in with 11 points off the bench.
The score was close throughout the fourth quarter until George made back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Jazz ahead 100-94 with 4:51 remaining. However, the Sixers rallied to tie the game on Adem Bona’s putback slam with 1:50 left.
The game was deadlocked at 102 when Grimes was fouled on a drive with 16.4 seconds left. He made both free throws to give the hosts the lead and, after Kyle Filipowski missed a 3-pointer on the other end, Walker knocked down two more free throws to ice it.
Maxey scored 10 points as Philadelphia led 29-22 after one quarter. The hosts led by as many as 14 in the period before Collier and Cody Williams combined to score 11 points in the final two minutes of the quarter.
The Sixers regained a 10-point lead early in the second quarter and led by double digits for a chunk of the quarter. However, George scored five points down the stretch to help the Jazz get within 53-48 at the break.
Philadelphia led by seven early in the third quarter before Utah scored 10 straight points, including two 3-pointers by George. The Jazz went on to lead 83-82 after three quarters.
