Wizards win, ending the 76ers’ eight-game winning streak
Kristaps Porzingis scored 24 points, and Bradley Beal added 19 as the Washington Wizards defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 116-111 on Tuesday night.
The Wizards held off a 48-point outburst from Joel Embiid and a 26-point, 13-assist performance from James Harden. The 76ers trimmed a 16-point deficit to one late in the game but couldn’t catch Washington, who played the final 4:17 minutes without Beal.
Beal looked to injure himself as he collided with Embiid and departed the game immediately. What went wrong was unclear, but he appeared irritated as he proceeded toward the tunnel.
The Wizards made some bad shots without their top guard on the court, but they made enough defensive plays to hold on.
Embiid trimmed Harden’s advantage to one with an alley-oop dunk, but Porzingis hit a 3-pointer to make it 111-107. Embiid’s first of two free shots were missed with 2:05 remaining, his lone miss in 14 attempts from the line.
With 1:29 remaining with the score 111-108, Embiid tripped while driving and fumbled the ball out of bounds. He had the ball down three again about a minute later, but this time Washington’s Deni Avdija reached in and batted it away.
The Wizards came into the game as healthy as they’d been all season, though Beal’s departure calls that into question. Washington has won three of its last four games after a 10-game losing skid, defeating Phoenix, Sacramento, and Philadelphia.
Despite Embiid’s 16 points, the Wizards lead 32-30 after nine turnovers in the first quarter. Beal had 11 points in the period.
The Wizards took better care of the ball in the second, and a 3-pointer by Porzingis got a good bounce early in the third quarter to give them their greatest game lead, 74-58.
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