The Philadelphia 76ers (5-1) took on the Washington Wizards (1-5) in the second-to-last game of their homestand. The Sixers and Wizards teamed up to kill the concept of defense as Philly took care of business again, winning by a wild score of 146-128.
Let's break down the Sixers' win over the Wizards.
Sixers player notes:
Joel Embiid: 48 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 17-15 FG shooting
Embiid couldn’t get much going early against Gafford but was a beast on the boards and got the ball moving around. He was much better in the second quarter when he wasn’t trying to run through his chest and simply took what he got. With some splendid shooting from the foul line (14-14) and the mid-range plus Maxey setting him up with great looks, Embiid was just unstoppable after the first few minutes. He scored 29 points in the third quarter without missing a single shot — a field goal or a foul shot.
Tyrese Maxey: 22 points, 1 rebound, 11 assists, 9-16 FG shooting
After Nick Nurse looked to light a bit of a fire under Maxey by saying he's too good to start games out slowly, he didn’t shy away but he also didn’t go nuclear. At least, not in the scoring column. He tallied seven assists in the first half and kept dishing in the second half, recording his first pair of consecutive double-digit assist games and a new career-high.
Maxey's scoring efficiency got better as the game went on, aided by some buckets with the game already out of reach. Nonetheless, his growth has been great to watch.
Nicolas Batum: 11 points, 2 rebounds, 0 assists, 4-5 FG shooting
“I think he's a really good player. I think he's a winning player. High-IQ guy, does a lot of everything,” Nurse said of Batum before the game.
Yeah, seems right.
Batum won’t always hit every shot he takes but his debut with the Sixers was absolutely stellar. He knows just where to be on offense and can contribute in a variety of ways on defense. Nurse has his work cut out for him to see who he wants to make a solidified part of his rotation.
Wizards player notes:
Jordan Poole: 23 points, 1 rebound, 6 assists, 8-15 FG shooting
Poole with a light greener than grass was truly a sight to behold with both the good and the bad. He's a remarkably smooth scorer but makes the occasional hilarious decision.
Kyle Kuzma: 28 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 12-20 FG shooting
Kuzma dropped 16 points on 7-10 shooting in the second quarter, saving the Wizards from total annihilation. He did his damage with a new season-high-scoring outing but was just a go-kart in a NASCAR race.
Game recap:
1st half
Now that Nicolas Batum is back with the Sixers after tending to his personal matter, Nick Nurse said before the game that he “certainly” wanted to get him and Robert Covington minutes. He indicated that Marcus Morris Sr. still needed to ramp up but didn’t rule out playing him. Kelly Oubre Jr. stayed in the starting group.
Nick Nurse on Sixers’ lineup plans: Oubre still starting, Covington and Batum will “certainly” get minutes tonight and “probably” Morris too pic.twitter.com/X6A4yrREma
— Sam DiGiovanni (@BySamDiGiovanni) November 6, 2023
The Sixers' offense looked off its rhythm to start but their defense looked worse. There was simply no resistance up top, leading to some easy dunks for Daniel Gafford as Embiid stepped up to stop the drive. On the other end, Gafford got super physical with Embiid on defense but got away with it. He was credited with three blocks on Embiid in the span of 10 seconds as Embiid tried (and failed) to use his size to score down low. Gafford rejected an Oubre layup and a Maxey layup minutes later.
Batum and Patrick Beverley were Nurse's first subs of the evening. The Sixers eventually got some momentum on offense going with Embiid dishing to Harris for a driving dunk and Melton for a triple. Harris continued scoring super efficiently and showing no hesitation attacking the rim but the first quarter might have been one of his absolute worst stretches of defense. He routinely allowed guys to get by him.
After one of the most asinine review decisions I have ever seen, Batum splashed a corner triple on his first Sixers shot attempt after cutting to the corner. He forced a steal by swiping the ball free and then hit another. The Wizards went with a smaller backup center in Eugene Omoruyi and Embiid, with the help of a red-hot Batum, led Philly on a run to close out the first quarter.
Batum came off of a pindown screen from Paul Reed and drained another triple to open the second quarter. And then he hit another fadeaway (two-point) shot from the corner straight off of the catch that bounced on the rum multiple times. The Sixers were +18 in the just-under-eight minutes he played in the first half.
Nurse spoke before the game about helping Melton get out of his shooting slump. Melton responded by simply saying he would rediscover his shooting stroke. Tonight, he backed up his talk. Melton it his first four triples, five of his first seven shots and tallied a handful of assists throughout the first half.
The Wizards had no answer for the Sixers on defense. Gafford's physicality was neutralized with Embiid hitting jumpers and ball movement opening up other looks. Although Kuzma was on a heater in the second quarter, Philly led 75-58 at the break.
2nd half
Maxey powered a quick surge from the Sixers out of the gates with a nice pocket-pass assist to Embiid and a pick-pocket that he turned into a reverse, and-one finish. Philly opened up the left side of the floor so Maxey could drive to the middle and hit Embiid if needed. He drew the defense in and connected with his big man thrice in the first four minutes of the half. But Maxey also changed his pace and scooped in a layup when Washington cheated over to Embiid.
Embiid's 29-point third quarter allowed him to blow way past his previous season-high of 35 points. Kuzma and Tyus Jones got enough buckets to prevent the Sixers from extending their lead much further. Despite Philly's already hefty advantage, their efforts made the Sixers stay on their A-game on offense. They did just that, surpassing the 100-point threshold with well over four minutes left in the third quarter.
Marcus Morris Sr. made his Sixers debut as he hockey-assisted a massive Embiid slam from Korkmaz. Embiid then rejected a layup from Mike Muscala before taking him off the dribble for an and-one. Not a very nice way to repay the man whose hot shooting allowed Philly to draft Maxey, but I digress.
Patrick Beverley excited the crowd with some rowdy defense and closed out the third quarter with an and-one layup. The score after three quarters: Philly 120, Washington 98.
The fourth quarter included, among other things, buckets from Maxey that kept the Wizards at bay and padded his stat line, a steal-and-slam from Reed, more minutes from Robert Covington and his first triple since being traded and Danuel House Jr.'s first minutes since the trade. He got a falling layup on a fast break to go despite a foul, getting the crowd on its feet one last time on the way to the exits.
Random rumblings:
- At the rate at which they get delay-of-game calls, the Sixers are going to set the NBA record.
- Love Sosa playing on Beverley buckets is great.
The Sixers will get their first major test at home of the season when they host the Boston Celtics on Wednesday.
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