76ers hold off Wizards in 120-112 win
PHILADELPHIA -- Robert Covington had 25 points and 11 rebounds as the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Washington Wizards 120-112 on Friday night.
Dario Saric and Gerald Henderson added 20 points apiece for Philadelphia, which won for the fourth time in five games. Saric also grabbed 11 rebounds.
Richaun Holmes contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds off the Sixers' bench.
Bradley Beal poured in 40 points and John Wall collected 29 points, 14 assists and eight rebounds for Washington, which cut a 22-point deficit to four with 22.9 seconds left.
Philadelphia's Nik Stauskas made two free throws with 21.9 remaining, and Henderson added two with 7.7 seconds to play.
Markieff Morris notched 14 points and Marcin Gortat had 11 points and 11 rebounds for Washington, which saw a four-game winning streak end. The Wizards also lost for just the second time in 13 outings.
Both teams made significant deals before Thursday's trade deadline. Bojan Bogdanovic, acquired by Washington from Brooklyn, scored two points off the bench.
Justin Anderson, acquired by the Sixers in a deal with Dallas involving Nerlens Noel, did not play. Andrew Bogut was also part of that trade, but he is not with the team while tending to personal business, amid speculation that he will be bought out of his contract.
The Sixers also acquired Tiago Splitter from Atlanta as part of a trade that included Ersan Ilyasova, but Splitter has not played this season after hip surgery.
The Sixers were also without center Joel Embiid, their leading scorer and rebounder, for the 12th straight game and the 15th time in 16 games because of a bone bruise and meniscus tear in his left knee.
Philadelphia also announced earlier in the day that forward Ben Simmons, the top pick in the 2016 draft, would miss the rest of the season after he underwent a CT scan Thursday showing that his surgically repaired right foot, injured in training camp, still had not fully healed.
The Wizards, down 108-86 with 7:04 left in the game, mounted a furious comeback featuring nine points by Wall and eight by Morris.
Wall's layup with 22.9 seconds left cut the gap to 116-112.
The Sixers, down 28-26 after a quarter, surged ahead 36-30 early in the second quarter behind Covington, who contributed a steal and 3-pointer, then a layup, then another 3-pointer.
With Philadelphia leading 43-41 later in the quarter, Saric scored eight points in an 18-6 flurry, two coming on a play where he backed Beal down, spun to the goal and laid the ball in with his left hand.
The Sixers' cushion was 61-49 at halftime, at which point Covington had 18 points and Saric had contributed 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
Beal had 19 points to pace Washington, and Wall had 12 points, six assists and two blocked shots.
Philadelphia made 13 of 22 shots from the floor, 10 of them layups or dunks, while going ahead by as many as 17 in the third quarter. Their lead was 95-81 heading into the fourth quarter.
NOTES: Philadelphia C Tiago Splitter, who underwent hip surgery in February 2016 and has also been bothered by calf injuries, said before the game he had been practicing with Atlanta. He hopes to play soon. ... Sixers general manager Bryan Colangelo said at a news conference earlier in the day that he regretted the way the team kept the public apprised of Joel Embiid's injury status. "It was a mistake to put out 'day to day,'" Colangelo said. "It won't happen again."