NBA 2018-19: 3 talking points from Philadelphia 76ers' win over Utah Jazz

Before the Sixers arrived in Utah to face the Jazz, they had won four of their last five matchups and were looking for their third straight W. Starting out slow, the Sixers unveiled an all-around show of dominance against the hosts, on their way to a commanding 114-97 road win.

Ben Simmons was greeted with boos and chants whenever he took possession of the ball, owing to his ROY bid against Utah's Michell this past season. According to him, the win is what matters at the end of the day,

"I love being able to come into an arena and hear boos and chants and see signs and then win by 20. There's nothing better than that," Simmons said.

The disappointing home loss for the Jazz is their sixth in the last ten games, as they now plummet to 12th position in the West with a subpar 17-19(0.472) record. The Jazz are 7-8 at home this season, one of the few teams with a losing record at home.

On the other hand, the win has brought the Sixers to within 3 games of the East leaders in Toronto, while they rest at a comfortable 4th spot with a 23-13(0.657) record.

Let's draw out some key takeaways from the Sixers' majestic road-win over the stumbling Utah Jazz.

#1 Ben Simmons records his fifth triple-double of the season while Joel Embiid dominates yet again

Ben Simmons beat Donovan Mitchell to the ROY race last season.

Embiid added another double-double to his league-leading total of 31, finishing with an imposing collection of 23 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 blocks.

In reference to his trash talking to a bunch of heckling fans in Utah, JoJo had the perfect explanation in the post-game interview,

"I love talking trash. That's my nature. But it's all fun and jokes," Embiid said after the game, "I can't let people just talk trash to me, I got to talk and back it up."

Handling his own personal set of boos and chants was Ben Simmons, another Sixer who looked authoritative throughout the night, recording 13 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists for his fifth triple-double of the season. He accomplished this feat well before the 4th quarter began and also netted some key buckets down the stretch when Embiid was fouled out.

#2 Utah couldn't capitalize or build up on their seven-point first quarter cushion

Utah came into the game with the best defensive rating over the last 10 games.

The Jazz rushed off to a 29-22 advantage as the first quarter ended, but what followed in the subsequent quarters was a dispirited effort on their part that cost them the game. Philly outscored Utah 35-23 and 38-27 in the second and third quarters respectively, piling up a 16-point cushion before the start of the final period.

The 24-8 run carried over for much of the third quarter and eventually, the Jazz never got within 15 points the rest of the way.

"I think our offense kind of affected our defense tonight," Mitchell said. "They had many transition opportunities and a lot of transition buckets."

Well, he was right, as the Sixers accumulated 11 fastbreak points while the Jazz could garner none during the course of the game.

#3 Redick converted an impressive 8-of-12 as the Sixers shot a decent 50% from the field

JJ Redick is averaging 17 ppg over the past 10 games.

The 76ers shot 75 percent in the second period to absorb the 7-point Jazz advantage and end the half with a 57-52 lead. For the game, the 76ers shot 50 percent as a unit and racked up 31 assists whereas Utah could only dish out 19 dimes in response.

As a bonus, crisp passing and constant movement off the ball kept the 76ers one step ahead all night. Embiid's presence in the paint harbored open looks for the sharp-shooter Redick as he made 6-of-9 from beyond the arc and finished with 24 points.

"I was patient. I got a couple looks in transition, but other than that I was just making good reads and one-dribble 3-pointers leaning one way or the other," Redick said, while joking he made his first spin move since 2015.

The Sixers shot 14 free throws in the third quarter(making 12) after shooting just two free throws in the entire first half. They shot 83% from the foul line, with Redick and Butler making all their FTs.

From the field, Philly shot 43-of-86, bringing their conversion to a decent 50% on the night while their opponents shot even worse than 40% in response. Both teams attempted 35 treys in the game, with Philadelphia netting 13, two more than Utah's total of 11 three-pointers made.