PHILADELPHIA _ Joel Embiid finally looked like a rookie.
The 76ers center had a tough time making baskets and struggled to hold onto the ball against double teams early on Monday night. And without his normal energy, the Sixers played lackluster basketball.
All that led to a 109-84 setback to the Utah Jazz at the Wells Fargo Center.
The loss dropped the Sixers to 0-6 for the season. It was their 10th consecutive setback dating back to last season. And Monday's defeat also marked the team's 43rd straight loss in the months of October and November since they beat the Milwaukee Bucks on Nov. 22, 2013.
The Jazz (5-3) know a lot about defeating the Sixers, having won eight straight in the series.
This game featured two of the league's top young centers in Embiid and Rudy Gobert.
In the 7-foot-1, 250-pound Gobert, Embiid faced one the league's few players close to his 7-2, 276-pound size. In Gobert, Embiid also faced one of the NBA's best post defenders _ if not the best.
Utah also did a solid job of scouting the Cameroonian standout. They double-teamed Embiid whenever he put the ball on the floor. However, he was active on the boards and converted foul shots until he found his groove late in the third quarter with Gobert on the bench.
Embiid finished with 14 points, nine rebounds, one steal, one block, and five turnovers. He shot 4 for 8 from the field and made 6 of 9 foul shots. However, he shot just 1 for 5 in the first half. His second basket came on his lone third-quarter shot attempt as Gobert was on the bench with four fouls. He scored on a turnaround hook shot from six feet out with one minute left in the quarter.
Embiid then scored on his first two shots in the fourth quarter before leaving the game with five fouls with 9:03 left. He did not return and the Sixers' already slim chance of coming back disappeared.
The home crowd booed as the Jazz opened up a 97-55 lead with 5:15 left. At the same time, fans began heading for the exits. Utah went on to lead by as many as 27 points amid several more boos.
Gobert finished with eight points, six rebounds and three blocks before fouling out with 2:18 left.
In his second game back from injury, Gordon Hayward was his normal dominant self against the home team. The seventh-year veteran came into the matchup averaging 18 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4 assists against the Sixers. He finished with a game-high 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists on Monday.
The 6-8 small forward missed the first six games of the season with a broken left ring finger. In his return, he finished with 28 points Sunday to lead the Jazz to a 114-109 victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
The Jazz were without starting point guard George Hill (sprained left thumb). He was named Monday as the Western Conference's player of the week.
Sixers small forward Robert Covington snapped out of his shooting slump, scoring 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting. He made 3 of 4 3-pointers. He came into the game shooting 16.7 percent.
