National Basketball Association
Philadelphia 118, Utah 117
When: 9:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 14, 2023
Where: Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah
Officials: #58 Josh Tiven, #77 Karl Lane, #12 CJ Washington
Attendance: 18206

Joel Embiid hit a game-winning shot with five seconds left and James Harden fired in 18 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 118-117 win over the Utah Jazz on Saturday in Salt Lake City.

Embiid finished with 30 points and seven rebounds, Tyrese Maxey scored 21 points and Shake Milton contributed 17 as the 76ers began a five-game Western Conference road trip on the right note.

Jordan Clarkson led the short-handed Jazz with 38 points, nine rebounds and five assists. He momentarily put Utah ahead with a go-ahead bucket with 13 seconds left after the Jazz rallied out of a 20-point, first-half deficit.

Talen Horton-Tucker scored 20 points off the bench for Utah, which played without four regulars, including leading scorer Lauri Markkanen, who was sidelined with a left hip contusion.

Rookie Walker Kessler totaled 15 points and 12 rebounds and Mike Conley added 14 points and eight assists for the Jazz, who had won two in a row.

The Sixers led the majority of the way after storming to a 20-point lead in the first quarter.

Trailing by 16, Utah pulled within five with 3:18 left in the first half thanks to an 11-0 run that included back-to-back dunks by Kessler and consecutive buckets from Clarkson.

Philadelphia went into the locker room at the half up 66-56 after Embiid banked in a 3-pointer with 1.6 seconds remaining.

Embiid gave the 76ers a 10-point lead in the third quarter with a three-point play. Utah responded with a 9-0 run to cut the lead to one.

Utah scored the final five points of the third quarter and then pulled even at 90-90 in the fourth on a Clarkson basket.

The 76ers regained an eight-point lead with an 11-3 run, including three 3-pointers by Harden in a minute-and-a-half stretch.

Clarkson kept the Jazz in it with 17 points in the fourth quarter. After Embiid split a pair of free throws, Kessler tipped in a Clarkson miss to give the Jazz their first lead of the game, 115-114, with 33.9 seconds remaining.

The teams traded leads in the waning moments, with Harden making a short jumper followed by Clarkson hitting his go-ahead shot prior to Embiid's game-winner.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Philadelphia   Utah
James Harden 31 Scoring Jordan Clarkson 38
James Harden 11 Assists Mike Conley 8
Joel Embiid 7 Rebounds Walker Kessler 12
Joel Embiid 10 Free Throws Made Talen Horton-Tucker 8
De'Anthony Melton 3 Steals Nickeil Alexander-Walker 2
Joel Embiid 2 Blocks Talen Horton-Tucker 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Philadelphia 118 44.9 17-39 21-26 23 37 5 5 8
Utah 117 47.8 12-40 19-23 20 48 6 5 12
Upcoming Games
  • Utah will play their next game on the road against Minnesota. The Jazz have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .458 after a loss.
  • Philadelphia will play their next game on the road against L.A. Lakers. The 76ers have a W/L % of .615 after a win and .625 after a loss.