76ers 115
Wizards 102
February 6, 2018 | Wells Fargo Center | Philadelphia, PA
The Washington Wizards season-high five-game winning streak is over at the hands of the Philadelphia 76ers and Joel Embiid. On the bright side, maybe this will be the end of the idiotic talk that the team is better without John Wall. On the dark side, Wall called out Gortat for having many of his baskets being “spoon-fed” when asked about his responds to the latter’s tweet that may have been a shot at the former. That will be saved for the irrational Twitter personalities to argue about as the Wizards point guard latter said that the potential digs at him are “behind” him and he and his teammates still form a “brotherhood.”
(Photo: Jesse D. Garrabrant via Getty Images)
Slow Start Leads to Uphill Battle
Philadelphia is still running on the high of the Eagles’ Super Bowl on Sunday and the arena was packed for the 76ers with rowdy fans that were loud to start the game. Instead of trying to minimize their impact by getting off to a fast start, Washington did the exact opposite. The road team began the game shooting an abysmal 3-of-14 from the field, while the home team was a fiery 8-of-11. The Wizards hung tough after the first four minutes by trailing just 10-7, but the 76ers hung a 16-0 run on them over the next four minutes that essentially doomed Washington.
“We dug a deep hole in that first quarter,” Scott Brooks said. “37 points [allowed]. Couldn’t make any shots during that stretch, too. Down 17 or 18 in that first quarter.”
Bradley Beal Does His Best
After starting the game 0-of-5 from the field, Beal finished 12-of-17 from the field including five three-pointers for 30 points, his tenth game this season with 30 or more points this season. Beal played 41 minutes the night after playing 36 minutes in Indiana and kept his team in it for as long as he could. The All-Star shooting guard rested just 65 seconds in the second half where he scored 19 points.
Wizards Cannot Get Over the Hump
Washington was down 21 points late in the first then got the deficit to just 13 points following a 10-2 run that was quickly responded by Philadelphia with a 9-0 run. A 22-point deficit early in the second quarter was cut to just 10 with a 14-2 run by the road team, but the home team pushed it back to 16 with a 10-4 run.
An 11-3 by the Wizards that spanned over intermission got them to within eight, but the 76ers then rattled off a 13-2. Washington came back with a 12-2 run and eventually got Philadelphia’s lead down to seven points late in the third quarter before the latter went on a 11-2 run. The Wizards would not quick by going on a 10-2 run get things back to an eight-point game, but the 76ers went on a 7-0 run late to end all hope. The young talent essentially sandwiched the Wizards’ runs.
“We fought, we battled,” Brooks said. “It seemed like every time we cut it to seven or eight, we would miss a wide-open three and they would come down and make one.”
Three-Point Shooting the Difference
Washington as a team shot 7-of-27 (25.9 percent) from beyond the arc. Take away Beal's 5-of-12 from deep and the Wizards were just 2-of-15 (13.3 percent). Philadelphia as a team was 14-of-28 (50 percent) from deep including 3-of-7 from Joel Embiid who came in shooting 28.6 percent from deep on the season. The home team’s 5-of-6 shooting from deep in the first quarter was part of the 16-0 run that put the City of Brotherly Love on top early.
“We missed like every open three during that stretch that we could have cut it to 4 or 5 and we didn’t,” Brooks said. “We missed a shot and a good shot, not a forced shot. I thought the ball was moving pretty good. We couldn’t make a shot from three. Sometimes when that happens, it could be a long night it started out being a long night in the first quarter, but we fought back. Our guys fought. Nothing but great things to say about our effort, but unfortunately, we couldn’t any threes to make it a game in that fourth quarter and the last couple minutes.”
Marcin Gortat Is Not Going Anywhere
Before Wall’s “spoon-fed” comment on the six-o’clock edition of SportsCenter, a source told Hoop District that it is unlikely that Gortat is moved before the 3 p.m. Thursday trade deadline. Although ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported that Gortat was being shopped and his colleague Zach Lowe reported that Washington had interest in DeAndre Jordan, Gortat is expected to remain in D.C. Team president Ernie Grunfeld is shopping Gortat as well as Ian Mahinmi who infamously signed a four-year, $64 million contract in the summer of 2016 in a package deal. Obviously, it is highly unlikely that a team take on both contracts. So, as of Tuesday afternoon, do not expect Gortat to be moved even if everyone on Twitter demands such because of his “team” tweet that he has said was not a shot at his point guard.
Next Game: Washington will play their last home game before the All-Star break as the Boston Celtics come to D.C. for the first time since John Wall drained a three-point in their faces. The No. 1 seed in the East got smoked by the No. 2 Raptors on Tuesday.