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Utah rookie Walker Kessler is pumped up to face Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers in Salt Lake City on Saturday night after one of the best all-around games of his young NBA career. . home set.
“I’m excited about this opportunity. I’m excited to learn,” Kessler said. “Let’s win one more time.”
Kessler finished with 13 points, nine rebounds and a career-best seven blocked shots in the Jazz’s 112-108 victory over the Orlando Magic on Friday.
The 22nd overall pick in the 2022 Draft, the former Auburn big man had one of the biggest smiles of his career after securing the win with two clutch foul shots with 11.1 seconds remaining. shined one. These frees His throws came after Kessler, who started in place of Kelly Olynyk (ankle), was fouled offensively while grabbing his rebound.
“I don’t know if you can tell, but I was glowing from ear to ear,” said Kessler, who won three of six from the line that night. “I went there and Touch handled the rest. I’m not going to talk about the missed free throws before. But we got the win, so I’m happy.”
The 7-footer’s big game was great, but his stats pale in comparison to what his next opponent put together in their last matchup.
The Jazz need to contain more Embiid than they did in their first matchup of the season. The center had a career-high 59 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and a season-high seven shooting in a 105-98 home victory over the Sixers on November 13.
Embiid became the first player to aggregate at least 50 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 blocked shots since blocking became an official statistic in the 1973-74 season.
“I’ve never seen a more dominant performance when combining defense and offense,” Philadelphia manager Doc Rivers said that night.
Embiid scored 26 of the Sixers’ 27 points in the fourth quarter. He created a game-deciding sequence in the final minutes, first blocking a Collin Sexton layup attempt with 1:19 left to put the Sixers up 101-98, then sinking the bucket on the other side. rice field.
“My teammates knew who had hot hands, so they had to feed me,” said Embiid.
Philadelphia had a day off on Friday after Thursday’s 133-114 home loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Embiid scored 30 points and 10 boards for him, but the 76ers fell apart in his two quarters in midfield en route to a loss.
“We’re a good team defensively, but we didn’t defend tonight,” Rivers said. “I think the overall common theme is getting smashed from the dribble to the point. I have entered painting many times.”
It was a 50-point turnaround from Tuesday’s Sixers game and a 147-116 home loss to the Detroit Pistons.
Saturday’s game kicks off Trekking’s five-game Western Conference road trip, which includes stops in Philadelphia, Utah, Los Angeles (against the Lakers and Clippers), Portland and Sacramento.
Utah has been chasing a two-game winning streak since just before playing in Philadelphia in mid-November. The Jazz, who got off to a great start to the season with a 10-3 record, won his second straight game on Friday and his fourth win in the past eight weeks.
–Field level media
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