Okafor (19 points) lifts Sixers over Wizards
PHILADELPHIA -- Jahlil Okafor scored a season-high 19 points and reserve forward Richaun Holmes made a critical 3-pointer in the closing minutes as the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Washington Wizards 109-102 on Wednesday night.
The Sixers rested rookie center Joel Embiid, their leading scorer and rebounder, who missed the last two seasons following a pair of foot surgeries. Philadelphia nonetheless shot 54.5 percent from the floor and recorded 30 assists, both season highs.
Ersan Ilyasova, making his first start in eight games with the Sixers, added 16 points. Nik Stauskas contributed 15 points, and Dario Saric had 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Gerald Henderson chipped in 14 points and Hollis Thompson scored 11 for Philadelphia (2-9), which won its second straight home game.
Sergio Rodriguez contributed 12 assists.
John Wall collected 27 points and six assists for Washington, which was without guard Bradley Beal (hamstring tightness) for the third straight game -- all losses.
Markieff Morris generated 19 points, while Otto Porter had 15 points and 13 rebounds. Marcin Gortat had 10 points and 14 boards
Washington trailed by 24 points in the second quarter and was down 95-80 with 10:31 left in the fourth. Wall notched 13 of his points in the final 7:08, and his two free throws with 1:29 to play cut Philadelphia's lead to 103-100.
Holmes then took a pass from Saric in the left corner and nailed his fifth 3-pointer in nine attempts this season. He finished with eight points.
Wall followed with a jumper to make it 106-102, but Rodriguez sank two free throws with 18.3 seconds remaining, and Saric added one more with 1.2 seconds to play.
The Sixers breezed to a 47-23 lead with 7:35 left in the second quarter as Okafor scored 12 points and Ilyasova and Saric combined for 15 points and 11 rebounds. Wizards reserve guard Marcus Thornton crammed all 10 of his points into a 2:29 later in the period, though, helping Washington shave the halftime deficit to 59-48.
Philadelphia shot a season-high 60.5 percent in the half.
The Wizards crept within six early in the third quarter, but by the end of the period Philadelphia's cushion stood at 88-76. Ilyasova notched eight points in the quarter, including two 3-pointers, and late in the period Stauskas dropped in an acrobatic reverse layup, followed two possessions later by a 3-pointer from the right corner.
NOTES: The Wizards are hoping to play G John Wall on Thursday at home against the New York Knicks, the first time Wall will play on consecutive days this season. He underwent surgery on both knees in May. ... The Sixers plan to rest C Jahlil Okafor, who is coming off knee surgery, Thursday in Minnesota. C Joel Embiid is expected to return against the Timberwolves and coach Brett Brown said that has nothing to do with the fact that the game will be nationally televised. "It's just the rhythm that the medical staff has put him on," he said. ... Philadelphia G Jerryd Bayless, who has yet to play this season because of a sore left wrist, spent two days scrimmaging with the Delaware 87ers, and returned to the Sixers on Wednesday. Bayless and Brown both said there is no timetable for his return, though Bayless previously said he hopes to be back by the end of the month.