Joel Embiid's 27 Points Pace 76ers to Wire-to-Wire Win vs. Bradley Beal, Wizards
Winning is suddenly contagious in Philadelphia.
Two days after the Philadelphia Eagles captured the franchise's first Super Bowl title, the 76ers opened a five-game homestand with a 115-102 victory over the Washington Wizards at Wells Fargo Center.
The victory propelled the Sixers (26-25) one game above .500, snapped Washington's (31-23) five-game winning streak and moved them to within striking distance of the sliding Cleveland Cavaliers, as The Athletic's Derek Bodner noted:
Joel Embiid, Philadelphia's two-way pillar, totaled 27 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks to lead the charge. The All-Star also knocked down a trio of three-point attempts after he entered the night 1-of-13 from distance over his past three games.
Embiid's long-range accuracy coincided with an awakening from the Sixers' arsenal of shooters.
Fresh off a 31.3 percent three-point shooting display against the Indiana Pacers on Saturday, Philadelphia drilled 14-of-28 attempts from deep, and all five starters finished in double figures.
True to form, Ben Simmons was one of the few Sixers who didn't fire up a triple. Instead, he relied on agility and power to cut his way through the paint en route to 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting, eight assists, six rebounds and three steals.
That collective balance and efficiency figured to put Philly on track for an easy win, but 17 turnovers and a flurry of hasty attempts early in the shot clock allowed Washington to hang around, as The Athletic's Mike O'Connor observed:
Although the Wizards shot 7-of-27 from three, they generated 22 points off the Sixers' cascade of giveaways and cut what was once a 21-point first-quarter deficit to single digits at various points throughout the second half behind Bradley Beal's 30 points.
But every time Washington made a run, the Sixers were armed with a response—usually in the form of a three or a timely bucket from Embiid.
"The city is on fire right now, so we wanted to make sure we put on a show for them," Embiid told TNT's Caron Butler after the win. "...Hopefully in the future, we give them the same thing that the Eagles gave them."
The Sixers will look to build on Tuesday's triumph Friday when the New Orleans Pelicans flock to Wells Fargo Center, while the Wizards have to prepare for a home tilt Thursday versus the Boston Celtics (8 p.m. ET on TNT).
