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Jazz get first win, hold off 76ers

Dec 31, 2011 - 5:56 AM Salt Lake City, UT (Sports Network) - Derrick Favors paced the Jazz with 20 points while also pulling down 11 rebounds as the Jazz edged the Philadelphia 76ers, 102-99.

Paul Millsap also recorded a double-double with 14 points and 14 boards for the Jazz, who avoided their first 0-3 start since opening the 1979-80 season with four straight losses.

"We needed a win, first of all," Jazz head coach Tyrone Corbin said. "We made some mistakes tonight, but I thought our energy level was up and defensively I thought we did a great job communicating with each other. The guys did a good job of coming together and pushing each other."

Devin Harris added 19 points, Gordon Hayward had 15 and C.J. Miles had 10 in the win.

Jrue Holiday scored a game-high 22 points, while Lou Williams added 20 but missed a game-tying three-pointer in the closing seconds.

Spencer Hawes notched a double-double for Philadelphia with 15 points and 13 rebounds in the 76ers' seventh straight loss in Salt Lake City.

Entering the fourth quarter trailing 73-71, Miles opened the final period with a shot from beyond the arc to put Utah ahead for the game's 12th and last lead change.

Philadelphia would pressure several times, though, but they could just not get the key basket they needed to retake the lead.

After Miles' trey to open the fourth, Utah was able to stretch the lead to as much as eight and held a 95-89 advantage on a couple of Josh Howard free throws with 4:48 left in the game.

Andre Iguodala quickly dropped in a three-pointer to cut the lead in half and neither team would record a basket over the next two minutes until Williams made a runner to bring Philly within one.

Williams again brought the 76ers within one on a pair of free throws after a Harris jumper with 1:47 to go, but Williams would make two key misses in the closing seconds as the Jazz held on for the win.

The first came with Utah holding a 101-99 lead and less than 15 seconds on the clock when Philadelphia was given the ball back after a traveling call on Harris.

Williams held the ball at the top of the key and saw a clear lane to the basket. He made a hard drive and laid the ball up, but it rimmed out. Hawes was right there for the tip-in, but his attempt was too hard and Millsap grabbed the rebound and was immediately fouled.

He made just 1-of-2 free throws, though, giving the ball back to Philadelphia with 4.9 seconds remaining.

Williams number was called again for the potential game-tying shot, but his three-pointer was short and just tipped the front of the rim, sealing the win for the Jazz.

"That's a shot I can make, it just rimmed out," said Williams. "We had our opportunities. We got shots at the basket and we didn't convert and they did. Simple as that."

Philadelphia started the game hot, making 11-of-19 shots in the first quarter to hold a 29-22 lead after the first while Utah made just 9-of-22 shots from the floor.

The Jazz responded with a 9-for-18 performance in the second, including 2-of-4 from three-point range to take a 53-51 lead into the break as the 76ers struggled to a 9-for-21 mark in the frame.

However, Philadelphia used an early 9-0 run in the fourth to retake the lead, which they held until the start of the fourth.

Game Notes

Utah's starting center Al Jefferson sat out the game with an inflamed right ankle. Favors got the start instead...Philadelphia has now dropped 21 of its last 23 games in Utah...Iguodala finished the game with 16 points...Philadelphia outscored Utah in the paint, 42-38.