Philadelphia 76ers on first 5-game winning streak since 2011-12

The dream is being realized as the Philadelphia 76ers got their sixth victory of the season — and fifth straight — over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night.

After starting the season with a 0-3 record, the Philadelphia 76ers have strung together a winning streak of their own. They won their fifth game in a row Tuesday night when they beat the Utah Jazz, 104-97. It is the first five-game winning streak the Sixers have experienced since the 2011-12 season.

Ironically, that was the last season the Sixers made the NBA Playoffs. The Sixers went 35-31 that season with the likes of Elton Brand, Andre Iguodala and Lou Williams on the squad. On Jan. 9, 2012, Iguodala led the way with 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists in a 96-86 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

Fast forward to now, with a new set of potential superstars and the Philadelphia 76ers look to turn a corner. They were without big man Joel Embiid on Tuesday night, as he sat out to rest on doctor’s orders, but still got their fifth straight victory.

Center Richaun Holmes started in place of Embiid and he did well. Holmes finished with six points, five rebounds, two assists and a block in 15 minutes of action. It was his first start in two appearances on the young season.

Second-year power forward Dario Saric led all scorers with 25 points and 10 rebounds in his fifth start of the season. Saric has struggled a bit since being inserted into the starting lineup, but he’s finding his groove again.

Battle of the rookies

Point forward Ben Simmons won the battle with rookie Donovan Mitchell. It was an interesting faceoff between the two rookies, although they don’t play the same position. Simmons looked good on both ends for Philadelphia in the victory.

Mitchell finished with eight points, three rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block on an ugly 3-of-21 shooting. He was also 2-for-11 from 3-point range.

Simmons finished the game with 16 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, three steals and three blocks. He didn’t need a triple-double this go-around, as three Sixers’ starters finished the game with double-doubles.

Robert Covington finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Simmons leads all rookies with seven double-doubles and two triple-doubles. He remains the only rookie to achieve at least one triple-double so far this season.

Gearing up for a road trip

Philadelphia is in good shape in the Eastern Conference with a 6-4 record. They’ve got veteran depth and key role players at their disposal, and it’s working so far.

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They’ve still got some kinks to work out with the health of top pick Markelle Fultz, but on the bright side, when you’re winning, things like that aren’t the biggest of concerns.

The Sixers’ victory over the Jazz is a good way to start off a big West Coast road trip. Philadelphia doesn’t have another home game until Nov. 18, with games against the Sacramento
Kings, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers coming up.

They’ll not only face some of the top young talent in the NBA, but also some of the top teams in the league as well. Their game against the Warriors should be a really good barometer of where they stand in terms of their overall direction and progress.

A victory over Utah without Joel Embiid is nothing to scoff at. They should have him back for the rest of their road trip, barring a freak accident. It will be interesting to see how the Sixers fare on their first big road trip of the season.

Next: 2017-18 Week 4 NBA Power Rankings

Up next: the Sacramento Kings.