On a night when Washington’s defense flopped, then fluttered, the Wizards — stop us if you’ve heard this before — faltered in the closing minutes against the 76ers’ Maxey and Ricky Council IV as they fell, 119-113, for their sixth straight loss.
Philadelphia shot 37 for 68 in the paint for 74 points to Washington’s 54.
“They were driving by us, and it built their confidence. And by the time we kind of snapped into gear and changed our attitude, it was a little too late,” the Wizards’ Corey Kispert said.
Each team had lost eight of its previous 10 games and was on the second game of a back-to-back, but the 76ers (31-21) looked plenty spry as zippy drives to the basket by Maxey and Kelly Oubre Jr. built a double-digit lead early in the second quarter. Washington (9-43) chipped away, pulling within three at halftime as Tyus Jones’s fifth first-half three-pointer capped an 8-0 run in the final 72 seconds of the quarter.
The close score in part was a byproduct of circumstance; reigning MVP Joel Embiid has been out of Philadelphia’s lineup since Jan. 30 with a lateral meniscus injury in his left knee. He bludgeoned the Wizards for 34, 48 and 50 points earlier this season.
The Wizards kept within reasonable distance early in the second half, bouncing back from the wrong side of a 13-3 run midway through the third quarter with a 14-5 run in the fourth that cut their deficit to two.
Maxey (28 points, nine rebounds, seven assists) paced Philadelphia as one of six players in double figures. Buddy Hield, the 76ers’ marquee deadline addition, had 23 points. Council added 19 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.
Jones led Washington with 25 points and nine assists. Deni Avdija and Kyle Kuzma (21 points each) also contributed for the Wizards. Still, Washington again failed to meet interim coach Brian Keefe’s call for improved defense. He also said he’ll be more likely to play a traditional big if the Wizards struggle with defensive rebounding late in the game, but he stuck with Kuzma and Avdija in the frontcourt because they were chiefly responsible for the late push.
“We have to be a defensive organization, a defensive culture,” Keefe said before the game. “I think we’re making growth in that. We’re not there yet. It’s not fully established.”
Washington remains the only team in the NBA without a win on the second night of a back-to-back this season (0-9). The loss also clinched the franchise’s worst pre-all-star-break record since it moved to Washington in 1973.
Here’s what else to know about the Wizards’ loss:
If Richaun Holmes was at all apprehensive about his new situation, the way a player might be when asked to uproot his life, he did a fantastic job concealing it in the hour before Washington’s loss.
The Wizards’ newest addition — who didn’t play Saturday but joined the team for the first time after being acquired Thursday with a first-round draft pick from the Dallas Mavericks for Daniel Gafford — was all smiles as he paced around the arena. He laughed and joked with a staffer on…
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