One day after watching his team play from the horizontal position in the 76ers locker room, Larry Brown was back on the bench last night. He might have rather stayed in the locker room.

Playing for the fourth time in five days, the Sixers lost to the Utah Jazz, 89-81, dropping their record to 12-18. With Brown, without Brown, it does not seem to matter. Something is amiss with the Sixers, and not even their coach seems able to fix it.

Last night's loss was exacerbated by a 56-second stretch in the third quarter in which Derrick Coleman was ejected, followed by Jazz forward Donyell Marshall, and finally Corie Blount, who had come into the game in relief of Coleman.

The scrum started with 6 minutes, 41 seconds remaining in the third and the Jazz up, 54-45. Fighting for a loose ball on the offensive end, Coleman wrapped his arm around Karl Malone's neck. Malone pulled away, and then the two exchanged words, with Coleman throwing a punch that hit Malone below the shoulder. After some discussion, referee Tom Washington told Brown that Coleman was tossed. He could be suspended by the NBA for Wednesday's game for throwing the punch.