Just hours before Wednesday night’s exhibition against the Philadelphia 76ers, Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan bemoaned his team’s inability to play a solid 48 minutes.
Exhibit A: the Jazz’s 101-93 roller-coaster victory over the hapless 76ers, who dropped to 0-4 this preseason. The Jazz (3-2) ran out of the tunnels and fired away at a 73-percent clip in the opening quarter to build a 15-point lead they never relinquished — though it seemed like they tried their best to.
The moment the buzzer sounded to begin the second quarter, the Jazz looked as if a completely different team stepped on the floor. The 76ers cracked the Jazz’s defense for 30 points in the quarter and tied the game at 51 just before halftime.
“We just need to execute the offense like we know we can,” said Jazz guard Ronnie Brewer, who continued his hot shooting with 14 points on 7-of-9 tries. “We can cut down on the turnovers. When we execute, we’ll be in good shape.”
Carlos Boozer proved to Jazz fans that he hasn’t missed a beat since the playoffs in May. The forward scored 17 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Jazz guard Deron Williams also recorded a double-double with 10 assists and 12 points, including 2-2 on three-pointers.
Center Mehmet Okur had one of his strongest showings of this preseason with 15 points and seven rebounds. Andrei Kirilenko rounded out his game with nine points, four assists and three blocks.
Philadelphia was led by former Ute point guard Andre Miller, who received plenty of cheers during the lineup introductions. Miller scored a game-high 18 points while forwards Willie Green and Andre Iguodala added 15 and 14 points, respectively.
Right now, Utah is about as consistent as mud.
After a poor effort in the second quarter, Utah hit another high note in the third when forward Paul Millsap had back-to-back dunks to put the Jazz back on top by 15. Philadelphia made another push in the final quarter, but would only get within eight.
“We’re just trying to play as a team and learn how to play off each other,” shooting guard Gordan Giricek said. “It’s still preseason. That’s no excuse (to not play hard), but we still have 15 days until the season starts.”
Maegan BurrKyrylo Fesenko dunks the ball Wednesday in a pre-season game against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Jazz won 101-93 and will take on the Kings Thursday.