76ers at Wizards
THE STORY: The Philadelphia 76ers have done a fine job of beating
back their direct competition in the Atlantic Division. The rest of the
schedule has been more of a challenge. The 76ers have not won
back-to-back games in three weeks and have slipped into a tie with the
Boston Celtics for first place in the Atlantic. The Washington Wizards
make a good candidate against which to break that streak, as they enter
Friday losers of five straight.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CS Philadelphia (76ers), CS Washington (Wizards)
ABOUT THE 76ERS (28-22):
Philadelphia has dropped five of its last eight but has managed to earn
two convincing victories over the Boston Celtics this month, giving the
76ers the head-to-head tiebreaker in the Atlantic. After getting
crushed 93-76 at San Antonio on Sunday, Philadelphia recovered with a
103-85 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday. The 76ers have
not had much trouble against Washington this season, taking the first
three meetings by an average of 21.3 points. Andre Iguodala averaged
14.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.7 assists in those three contests but
has missed the last two games with knee tendinitis. The All-Star forward
is listed as day-to-day.
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (11-39):
Washington’s big struggle lately has been on the offensive end, where it
is averaging 83.4 points during the latest slide. The Wizards have had
most of their struggles this season on the other end but have held each
of the last five teams to less than 100 points. They took the Indiana
Pacers all the way down to the wire Thursday but fell 93-89. John Wall
turned the ball over five times and had only two assists against the
Pacers. Washington has blown double-digit fourth quarter leads in each
of the last three home games and lost in the closing seconds.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Philadelphia is 18-5 against teams with losing records.
2. The 76ers have taken five straight in the series overall.
3. Wall has averaged 13.0 points, 6.3 assists and 5.7 turnovers in the three 2011-12 meetings.