The Sixer Sense
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Philadelphia 76ers fall to the Washington Wizards, 109-93

By Matt Delaney

Feb 26, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Jahlil Okafor (8) drives against Washington Wizards forward Markieff Morris (5) during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Washington Wizards won 103-94. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 26, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Jahlil Okafor (8) drives against Washington Wizards forward Markieff Morris (5) during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Washington Wizards won 103-94. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Philadelphia 76ers lost 109-93 to the Washington Wizards on Saturday night at the Verizon Center in Washington DC, ending their three-game win streak

Philadelphia 76ers rookie sensation Joel Embiid sat out due to scheduled rest, since it was the second game of a back-to-back. Jahlil Okafor started in Embiid’s place even though Okafor has recently seen very little playing time. Prior to the start of the game, Washington All-Star John Wall received a trophy as the NBA’s Eastern Conference Player of the Month for December.

Starting Strong

Okafor showed no signs of rust as he scored 9 quick points, asserting his dominance in the post in the first five minutes of play. Not to be outdone, Ersan Ilyasova racked up 11 quick points and went to work on the boards, tallying 3 offensive rebounds in the first 6 minutes of play. The Sixers strong defensive intensity was helping set the pace of the game. At the 4:30 min mark, the Sixers led 24-14.

Later in the first quarter Bret Brown went through his normal rotations, but regardless of who was on the floor, the Sixers stayed aggressive. By the end of the first quarter, the Sixers had been to the foul line eleven times already, converting on seven of the them. Sixers led Washington 30-21.

Second Quarter

Nerlens Noel, coming of the bench, made use of his minutes by crashing the boards. By the first few minutes of the second quarter, Noel had already pulled down 7 rebounds. Noel would go on to finish with a game high 12 rebounds. Both teams maintained pace, but the Sixers passing really stood out. T.J. McConnell, Nik Stauskas and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot all had sequences with gorgeous passes for easy layups to post players.

Halfway though the second quarter, Bradley Beal was the Wizards lead scorer with 16 points, he would finish the game with 20 points and 4 rebounds.

John Wall also came to life after shooting poorly in the first quarter. The duo began to rally Washington as the Sixers defense lost steam. At half time the Sixers lead had evaporated and the score was knotted up at 56.

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Wizards Takeover

Beginning the second half, Philadelphia tried to regain the momentum they had earlier in the game. However, the Wizards had other plans and went on a 7-0 run before Bret Brown could call a timeout and try to refocus his team. Washington maintained their lead as both teams exchanged baskets for the next several minutes. Jahlil Okafor continued his dominance in the paint. By the 5-min mark in the third quarter, Okafor had scored 20 points.

In the last few minutes of the third quarter, the Wizards pushed their lead to as high as 17. The Sixers struggled to challenge perimeter shots and were outscored 30-15 in the quarter. At the end of the 3rd the Wizards led 86-71.

Sixers Fizzle Out

In the opening minutes of the fourth quarter the Wizards pushed their lead up to 23. The Sixers had no rim protection with Noel on the bench in foul trouble. Philly could not keep Washington out of the paint. Rookie Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot enjoyed the highest scoring game of his career, finishing with 12 points and 6 rebounds. TLC along with Okafor seemed at times to be the only aggressive Sixers players attacking the basket. Okafor finished the game leading Philly in scoring with 26 points and 9 boards.

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Sixers recent D-League player acquisition, Chasson Randle saw his first minutes in uniform. He signed a 10-day contract with the Sixers on January 10th. Randle played 5 minutes and score 3 points and 1 steal.

Through the rest of the last quarter, the Sixers were not able to string together any kind of late run or rally in any way. In the final minutes of play, both teams put out their clean-up squads to finish. The Final score was 109-93 Washington. John Wall led Washington with 25 points, 7 assists, and 7 rebounds.