The Sixers hope to use their terrific Christmas Day victory on the road over the defending champion Boston Celtics as the launching pad for a stark turnaround after a 3-14 start to the 2024-25 NBA season. Their first test came against a much lesser opponent: the 7-22 Utah Jazz, owners of the league's third-worst record entering Saturday's game.

Joel Embiid was listed as questionable all day due to a left foot sprain he suffered in the final minutes of Wednesday's win in Boston, but when starting lineups were announced 30 minutes before tip-off, Embiid was in there, taking the court for the third consecutive game -- tied for his longest streak of the season. Meanwhile, the team's depth was once again tested due to quite a few role player absences.

Utah nearly ran the Sixers off the floor with a first quarter flurry, but the Sixers did more than return the favor in the second quarter. The Jazz responded in the third quarter, though, setting up a tight close. Indeed it was, as the teams went back and forth for much of the fourth quarter. Ultimately, the Sixers emerged with a hard-fought win thanks to repeated clutch plays on both ends of the floor from Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.

Here is what stood out from the Sixers' 114-111 victory in Utah: 

Embiid suits up, but Andre Drummond and Eric Gordon do not

While Embiid was as close to a true game-time decision as there is in 2024, Drummond (left toe sprain) and Gordon (left oral surgery) were ruled out about an hour before the start of the game -- joining key reserves Jared McCain and KJ Martin on the sideline. On the team's initial injury report for the game, issued on Friday afternoon, both of the veteran reserves were listed as probable. On Saturday, Gordon and then Drummond were downgraded to questionable, a telltale sign that they were closer to doubtful.

In his starting lineup, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse stuck with the group that thrived in Boston in its debut: Embiid, Caleb Martin, Paul George, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Maxey. This was the unit which the Sixers were expected to start during the entire offseason, but Wednesday was the first time Nurse got around to using it after a long list of injuries suffered by four of those five players.

This set up Guerschon Yabusele and Kyle Lowry to be Nurse's primary reserves, though Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer reported from Utah before the game that Nurse had indicated rookie center Adem Bona could see rotation minutes.

Jazz throw an early haymaker to establish lead

George knocked down a triple on his first shot of the night to open the scoring -- an excellent sign given his immense struggles as a shooter and scorer in recent games:

However, the Sixers went on to miss their next seven shot attempts over four minutes and change while Utah's offense enjoyed an early hot streak. Jazz All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen was extremely aggressive from the outset, and he led the way with three early triples to power Utah's offense. Third-year center Walker Kessler and veteran ball-handler Jordan Clarkson also gave Jazz head coach Will Hardy strong contributions in the game's opening minutes.

Thanks to a subpar shooting quarter from the Sixers and a dominant rebound effort from the Jazz on top of those standout performers, the Jazz carried a 34-22 lead into the beginning of the second quarter

George notches another impressive milestone

Earlier this month, George entered the top 10 in career three-pointers made in the history of the NBA. And on Saturday night, the nine-time All-Star passed recent Hall of Fame inductee Vince Carter, taking sole possession of ninth on the list when his second triple of the night gave him 2,291 for his career.

Up next for George to catch on the list: former Sixer Kyle Korver, whose 2,450 three-pointers made his him in eighth place all-time.

Ricky Council IV rejoins the rotation

Council appeared to be finding a version of himself closer to his peak form in the middle of December, logging 64 minutes across four consecutive appearances and getting to the line at will during that time, attempting 21 free throws. But Nurse opted to go in another direction in both of the team's games earlier this week.

First, Caleb Martin's return to action caused Council to be the odd man out during the team's wild and controversial Monday night victory over the San Antonio Spurs. With KJ Martin and Drummond sidelined on Wednesday, one would have guessed Nurse would call upon the services of Council against a wing-heavy Celtics team. Instead, the choice was veteran guard Reggie Jackson -- and while Jackson himself did not have a memorable performance, the Sixers did win his minutes by 11 points.

Instead of using the same eight-man rotation in Utah which delivered a win in Boston, Nurse expanded to his typical nine-man rotation. That opened the door for Council's return to action, with Bona the odd man out despite Nurse's pregame comments. Council scored a transition bucket and blocked a shot during a six-minute stretch to open the second quarter.

Sixers stage a massive run in second quarter to take control

The Sixers were able to hang around early in the second quarter, but eventually a massive run ensued that put them in front. Maxey, Yabusele and Embiid led the way offensively, with Embiid and George serving as defensive stalwarts.

After three and a half minutes of action in the second quarter, the Jazz had extended the deficit to 14 points, leading the Sixers 42-28. Eight and half minutes of game time later, the teams returned to their locker rooms with the Sixers leading 57-52. It was a brilliant, dominant stretch of Sixers basketball, as Nurse's team absolutely pummeled a team with inferior talent.

We'll start with Yabusele, who helped spark the run with pure hustle. After a rare missed free throw from Embiid, Yabusele battled for positioning down low and drew a loose ball foul, which sent him to the line for a pair of free throws:

Later on, Yabusele knocked down a corner triple in transition:

Embiid had a terrific quarter, which included multiple excellent defensive stands as well as a strong mix of scoring and passing.

The best of his passes was this assist to a cutting Oubre for a slam out of a two-man action with Maxey:

What stood out most about Embiid was his continued focus on rolling to the rim effectively. Embiid has never been a stellar roller, but in recent games has clearly made a point to roll hard. He appears to be moving extremely well, too, perhaps enabling this renewed concentration on rolling.

One player who that helps is Maxey, but as the 24-year-old point guard threw down a left-handed dunk to cap off the team's best highlight of the half, it was George who paved the way for Maxey to do damage with a steal:

George scored just seven points on 3-of-8 shooting from the field in the first half -- and he must improve significantly as a shooter and scorer relative to what he has produced in recent games for the Sixers to be the best team they can be -- but he continues to do so many things to ensure he is impacting winning.

Whether it is grabbing contested rebounds or playmaking on both ends of the floor, George has enough skills to be a valuable piece when his signature abilities are not quite clicking. George's defense was outstanding from the opening tip in Utah, and his steal to set up Maxey's slam was his fourth of the first half.

Utah lands another punch to open second half

Give this to the young Jazz: they keep on pushing, and they did just that after a brutal second quarter and not only looked more formidable in the third quarter, but spent much of the frame leading the Sixers. Clarkson and Collin Sexton provided dynamic guard play while the Sixers sputtered offensively, allowing the Jazz to make an 18-4 run.

Complicating matters significantly was George getting into serious foul trouble. After committing two fouls in the first half, George picked up three more in the span of a few moments during the third quarter. Suddenly, he was tied to the bench for an extended period with no more fouls to spare.

Inside of the four-minute mark of the third quarter, though, Jackson finally gave the Sixers the sort of offensive boost they signed him to provide. The 34-year-old spark plug tied the game with a triple from the left corner, and after the Sixers got another stop, Jackson knocked down another three, this time from the right corner:

Jackson's pair of consecutive corner threes helped the Sixers calm down and settle in. Maxey returned to the game to close the third quarter and knocked down a 31-footer, which can never hurt, either.

As the Sixers and Jazz entered the fourth quarter, they found themselves knotted at 81 apiece.

Sixers earn win after contentious fourth quarter

The Jazz earned the upper hand in the first few minutes of the fourth quarter, and it was Maxey running an undermanned unit who kept the Sixers afloat with some tough shot-making:

Still, the Sixers could not muster consistent enough offense for portions of the final frame, while Utah's scoring remained steady throughout much of the fourth quarter thanks to plenty of timely shots. Embiid's return to the floor with seven minutes and 28 seconds remaining was a godsend, though, as the 2023 NBA MVP provided some reliability. Embiid brought the Sixers back by scoring on three out of four possessions, capped off by this gorgeous and-one finish inside:

Embiid went on to notch his third steal of the night during what very well may have been his strongest defensive showing of the season. On the ensuing Sixers possession, he slipped and fell while dribbling, but held onto the ball and found a moving Maxey for a brilliant go-ahead triple:

With the game eventually tied again, Maxey put the Sixers back in front with another triple:

That lead only for a handful of seconds, though, as Markkanen converted an and-one against Embiid at the rim. The Sixers went to their bread and butter -- a Maxey-Embiid two-man action -- and it resulted in an easy jumper from the free throw line for Embiid. 

Three challenges and what felt like hours of reviews later, the Sixers finally watched the clock strike three zeroes and celebrated a win. It may have been harder to earn this victory than it should have been, but a win is a win every time -- especially when it only improves your record to 12-17.

Up next: The Sixers will continue their West Coast trip on Monday against another rebuilding team when they take on the Portland Trail Blazers.

Follow Adam on Twitter: @SixersAdam

Follow PhillyVoice on Twitter: @thephillyvoice