Washington, DC -- Marcin Gortat posted 23
points and 14 rebounds as the Washington Wizards disposed of the
Philadelphia 76ers, 106-93.
Bradley Beal added 20 points, five
rebounds and five assists for the Wizards, who had lost five of their
last six. John Wall was in a giving mood and handed out 15 assists to go
along with his 13 points. Gortat and his backup Kevin Seraphin combined to shoot 15-of-16 from the floor.
Ish Smith matched a career high for Philadelphia with 23 points, while
Isaiah Canaan and Hollis Thompson contributed 18 and 16, respectively,
off the bench.
Nerlens Noel chimed in with 14 points, 10
rebounds, two blocks and two steals for the Sixers. The potential
Rookie of the Year was coming off 14.3 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.4
steals and 2.1 blocks per game in March. He was the first rookie to
ever post those numbers in a month.
Washington scored the game's
first seven points on two Otto Porter buckets and Gortat's three-point
play. It led 31-21 after one and built on that lead as the Sixers
missed six straight shots to open the second.
The Wizards ran
off 10 straight points, and Drew Gooden canned a 3 after Thomas
Robinson's layup ended Philly's drought as they opened a 44-23 lead.
Beal and Gortat scored 14 points apiece, Wall had eight assists
and the Wizards shot a robust 29-of-42 (69 percent) from the floor en
route to a 65-42 halftime lead.
Despite trailing by as many as
34 points late in the third, the Sixers never stopped battling. A 9-0
run early in the fourth had them within 24. Later, Thompson bookended
another 9-0 spurt with 3-pointers to cut it to 100-85.
Out of
a timeout, Wall, Beal and Gortat checked back in the game and
Washington put it away. Gortat answered Philly's run with a layup,
and Wall hit consecutive jumpers with around four minutes to play.
Notes: The Sixers have lost six of seven ... Washington won the rebounding
margin, 47-34 ... The Wizards assisted on 33 of 44 field goals. They
shot 57.9 percent from the floor, setting a new season high.
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