Philly Strikes Back, Halts Losing Streak with Epic Comeback Stop

The Philadelphia 76ers (31-21) took on the Washington Wizards (9-43) on the second night of a back-to-back. Fresh off of a loss the night before, the Sixers got some crucial performances from around the roster and won by a score of 119-113.

Let’s break down the Sixers’ win.

76ers player notes:

Tyrese Maxey: 28 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 11-25 FG shooting

Maxey overcame an illness to play in this one, his first with his new teammates. After a shaky opening quarter, he recalibrated and attacked downhill much more effectively. For as well as he could get into the paint, though, he didn’t shoot very well and wasn’t benefiting from the whistle. He came through when the 76ers needed it and that was

Buddy Hield: 23 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals, 9-16 FG shooting

This was much closer to the Hield the 76ers had in mind when they traded for him. He made his shots — both jumpers and smooth wide-scoop layups — but also provided some critical playmaking, using his shooting gravity to create and make good reads. Especially in the third quarter, Buddy was balling.

Ricky Council IV: 19 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 7-13 FG shooting

Council was absolutely sensational in this game, attacking the rim with ferocity and defending very well, too. While he still had some ill-advised shot choices, his downhill pressure was a major factor for Philly. On many times getting stuffed in the paint, his sheer determination and energy earned him foul shots.

Wizards player notes:

Tyus Jones: 25 points, 3 rebounds, 9 assists, 9-14 FG shooting

By far the Wizard with the most going for him in this game, Jones put on the best shooting spectacle of his career. He was lights out in the first half, as the ball found him open and he located the bottom of the net almost every time. Most of his damage came in the first half and his second half consisted of buckets and plays more typical to him. But that first half really was something else.

Deni Avdija: 21 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 9-14 FG shooting

Avdija’s defense was strong all game long. He did a very admirable job with the Maxey assignment but his versatility was felt everywhere. Much of his scoring came in the paint on fast breaks and patient drives to the hoop.

Game recap: 

1st half

The Sixers had just a crumb of time to get Buddy Hield and Cam Payne acclimated to their new team. Right away, their services were needed badly in a back-to-back with the second game on the road, though at least it was in a city just a few hours away. Although the Wizards were at home, they were also on the second night of a back-to-back after a game in Boston. From the outset, this was as good of a chance as any to get back in the win column, especially with Tyrese Maxey coming back from illness.

Avdija guarded Maxey while Hield and Oubre took turns guarding Poole. Washington’s drive-and-kick game was strong to start, finding five threes in its first six shot attempts and making (appropriately) three of them. Maxey and Hield teamed up on an early triple with a pitch action but Maxey was unable to get much else going. He was one of the first subs of the game and was replaced by Cam Payne. Tobias Harris wasn’t particularly good to start, either.

Mo Bamba joined the long list of 76ers inactive and was ruled out ahead of the game with right knee soreness. K.J. Martin was the first option to be the backup center. Payne and Maxey shared the floor in this lineup as Philly pushed the pace and got to the rim. Ricky Council IV also made an appearance, displaying some impressive defense and showing no fear in attacking the rim. He left Poole in the dust with a sweet hesitation move on a fast break.

The Wizards ended the first quarter with a bang as Delon Wright assisted Bilal Coulibaly on an alley-oop. But the Sixers stayed ahead despite Tyus Jones shooting 4-5 from deep and Maxey having a pretty rough start. He scored his first points of the game on a layup to start the second and pulled up for a three less than a few possessions later. Although he threw a lob just a bit too high for Council, he started playing much better.

Both sides exchanged buckets close to the hoop as the Wizards went to a smaller Kuzma-Coulibaly (Kuzibaly?) frontcourt while Reed and Martin spent a chuck of time on the court together. The 76ers eventually went smaller with Reed off the court and Martin at center and then went to Harris at the five. The five-out spacing did nicely for Maxey, though he was also stopped in his tracks a few times. Washington made up some ground before the half ended.

The 76ers led 59-56 at halftime.

2nd half

A Hield triple got the second half underway for the 76ers. Reed turning garbage into gold under the basket helped them get by but they still couldn’t get nice and tidy on defense. Forcing a shot-clock violation was a very nice start. On the other end, Payne and Oubre linked up for another high-low feed and bucket at the rim. Payne illustrated his desire to learn his teammates’ tendencies by mentioning after the last game how he wanted to find more ways to find Oubre going downhill. The work is just starting but it’s promising.

Payne continued his strong third quarter by assisting Hield on a three, slicing into the paint for a layup through a foul and drawing a charge. The newcomers had the 76ers’ offense humming on the way to a 15-5 run that helped them obtain their greatest lead of the game. Another key factor in the run was the Wizards’ propensity for turnovers. They committed six in just the first eight minutes of the third quarter. Another Washington run soothed some of the damage but the Sixers had started to really take command.

Although Hield’s weak defense was exposed to start the fourth quarter, he did a great job of getting and keeping Maxey in a nice shooting rhythm. His ghost screening helped Maxey attack an off-kilter defender, allowing him to swish some step-back threes. Avdija came through with critical plays on both ends as the Wizards clung to a single-digit deficit. Harris continued to have a performance that was the exact opposite. He was baited into bad positions often, coughing the ball up and failing to cover for it on defense.

The Wizards brought it back to a two-point game. Second-chance buckets from Oubre and Council uplifted the Sixers as they found themselves with a real game on their hands.

Hield and Harris were given a break before coming back in and closing the game out with Maxey, Oubre and Council. Maxey got some tough layups to fall and Council drew a foul, making just one free throw. But the Wizards came away with paint points of their own. Council also snagged an offensive rebound for a putback layup, giving the 76ers a five-point lead with under a minute left.

By that point, Washington had to resort to fouling. Philly took care of business at the stripe and snapped a four-game losing streak.

Random tidbits:

• The Sixers fans traveled well for this one — and some Wizards fans were in the building, too. It was still probably more of a Washington crowd but only by default.
• Jones made four threes in the first quarter and reached a new career-high later in the game while Corey Kispert had two airballs. Funky three-pointer mojo going on there.

The 76ers face the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday to finish this brief road trip.