(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
The Philadelphia 76ers won Jimmy Butler’s home debut despite some rocky play throughout.
With Donovan Mitchell and his questionable understanding of the word ‘rookie’ leading the way, the Utah Jazz put up a strong fight in Jimmy Butler‘s home debut. The second and third quarters went in Utah’s favor, with poor execution (and foul trouble) hurting the Philadelphia 76ers.
In the fourth quarter, however, momentum shifted back and forth. Mitchell had some timely baskets, but Butler and Joel Embiid made several key plays down the stretch. A high-arcing inbounds pass from Ben Simmons to Butler with 20 seconds left put the game on ice.
Making his first appearance in front of the raucous crowd, Butler was the Sixers’ most effective (and consistent) player. He tallied 28 points and seven assists, striking a nice balance between scoring and ball movement.
Embiid was in foul trouble, picking up his fourth just 20 seconds into the third quarter. He got things going in the final frame, though, hitting a game-tying three at one point and making some nice moves inside. His matchup with Rudy Gobert yielded some fun moments.
The Sixers are now 10-7 (8-0 at home) on the season, good for fifth in the conference — essentially a tie with Boston and Indiana. A back-to-back matchup against Charlotte on Saturday will provide another test for a team leading the league in games played.