76ers @ Jazz

Who will WIN this matchup?

Philadelphia 76ers (22-13)

@ Utah Jazz (17-18)

Current odds:

Philadelphia 76ers: (+170)

Utah Jazz: (-200)

• The line for this game is Jazz by 5 points.

• The Utah Jazz are starting to find their form with wins in three of the last four games and are coming off a dominating Christmas Day performance in a win over the Portland Trail Blazers. The Jazz will try to get back to .500 when they continue a four-game homestand by hosting the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday. Utah is holding its own against some of the best teams in the West with wins over Portland (twice) and Golden State in the last four games and is crediting an increase in focus.

• The 76ers began their five-game road trip with a 121-114 overtime loss at Boston on Tuesday but still feel good about where the team is headed. “I look forward to watching us evolve,” Philadelphia coach Brett Brown told reporters. “We will learn from this. We leave disappointed, but I think there’s lots you’re going to point to and say it was a hell of a job, and we lost to a team that’s very tough.”

• Philadelphia’s starters scored 101 of the team’s 114 points on Tuesday and getting more out of the bench is a priority. “The fact that the starting five for the large majority of the game was excellent,” Brown told reporters. “I though the spirit was great, the energy was great, but we need to continue to grow our bench, and to work with our starters to finish out the game.” Power forward Mike Muscala suffered through the roughest night for any of the reserves while going 1-of-9 from the floor (1-of-8 from beyond the arc).

• Utah held Portland to 39.3 percent shooting on Tuesday as center Rudy Gobert anchored the defensive effort with seven blocks. Gobert added 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting and 14 rebounds for his fifth straight double-double. “Rudy’s able to play all over the court,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder told reporters. “That’s what we need from him. He can still protect the rim and also be impactful out on the floor. We’ve got to be able to protect him, too. When we do that, it puts him in positions where he can impact the game – not just plugging holes but doing some of the things he did tonight.”

• Jazz PG Dante Exum scored 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting Tuesday, snapping a string of five straight games scoring in single digits.

• 76ers PG Ben Simmons recorded a double-double in each of the last three games, including one triple-double.

• Philadelphia took the last three in the series, including a 113-107 home win on Nov. 16.