Sixers Conquer Wizards, 120-112

The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Washington Wizards, 120-112, at Wells Fargo
Center on Friday evening. The Sixers’ first game after the All-Star break
featured Dario Saric’s debut as the permanent starting power forward, and the
2014 first-round pick did not disappoint. Saric contributed a 20-point,
11-rebound double-double that also included four assists and one steal. All five
members of the Sixers (22-35) starting five posted double-digit scoring, and
Philadelphia managed a 49.4 percent success rate from the floor in an explosive
offensive showing overall. The impressive effort helped the home team overcome a
spectacular 40-point effort from the Wizards’ Bradley Beal. Beal added four
rebounds, two assists and two steals to his game-high scoring total. John Wall
was right behind with a 29-point, 14-assist double-double that also included
eight boards and a pair of blocks. Markieff Morris was a distant third for the
Wizards (34-22), generating 14 points, seven rebounds and one steal. Marcin
Gortat compiled an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double that also included one
assist and one block. Robert Covington paced the Sixers with 25 points, 11
rebounds, three assists and four steals. Gerald Henderson tallied 20 points and
five boards. Richaun Holmes, seeing an expanded role off the bench with the
departures of Nerlens Noel and Ersan Ilyasova at the trade deadline, supplied 12
points, 10 rebounds, one assist, five blocks and two steals. Jahlik Okafor and
Nik Stauskas produced matching 11-point efforts, with the former adding two
rebounds and two assists, and the latter registering three boards, one assist
and one block. T.J. McConnell amassed 10 points, eight assists, four rebounds,
two steals and one block. The Wizards head back home to tangle with the Utah
Jazz on Sunday afternoon, while the Sixers head to New York to take on the
Knicks on Saturday evening.