76ers at Wizards
The Philadelphia 76ers are proud owners of three straight victories for the first time in more than three years and aim to tack on another win when they visit the Washington Wizards on Saturday. Philadelphia posted a 102-93 triumph over Charlotte on Friday and suddenly has won five of its last six games after a 7-24 start.
Star center Joel Embiid is the engineer of the 76ers' sudden rise and has posted eight consecutive 20-point performances, but he is scheduled to sit out against the Wizards on the second end of the back-to-back set. "I've been trying to change the culture," Embiid told reporters after Friday's victory. "I think people are starting to see that. We're winning games, and the way people view the Sixers, that changes." Washington received good news on Friday, when X-rays and an MRI exam conducted on point guard John Wall's right pinkie finger came back negative. "One thing I know about John, being around him for the six or seven months now, he is as tough as they come," first-year coach Scott Brooks told reporters. "He's going to put himself out there, which is definitely something that I admire."
TV: 8 p.m. ET, CSN Philadelphia, CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington)
ABOUT THE 76ERS (12-25): Embiid's success has turned Jahlil Okafor, the No. 3 overall pick in 2015, into a spectator, and Friday marked the fifth time in six games that Okafor didn't even enter the contest. The 21-year-old averaged a team-best 17.5 points last season and appeared to be a long-term building block but currently is running behind Embiid and 2013 first-round pick Nerlens Noel. "He has been unbelievable, really," Philadelphia coach Brett Brown told reporters while indicating Okafor will receive a lot of playing time on Saturday. "You want to talk about a young man going through a life lesson. This is it, and a blueprint for many, many other young people in the league: How do you handle adversity? Your star's not shining at the moment, and how do you deal with it?"
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (19-19): Wall has been bothered by the finger as well as pain in his left wrist, and he no longer could ignore the finger issue after a 4-of-21 shooting performance in Wednesday's 117-108 loss to Boston. Wall has career-best averages of 22.8 points and 10.3 assists despite the soreness and may have to wear a splint or heavily tape the pinkie. "The main problem is just my pinkie mostly, so if I can get that to just stay stable and it (doesn't) affect my shot as much as it did the other night," Wall told reporters. "It was frustrating knowing what I was going through, and trying to play a good game and help my team, that shots wasn't falling."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The 76ers posted a 109-102 home victory over the Wizards on Nov. 16 to halt a six-game losing streak in the series.
2. Washington SG Bradley Beal topped 30 points for the sixth time this season when he scored 35 against the Celtics.
3. Three of Philadelphia's wins in the last six games have been by two or fewer points.