Wizards 119, 76ers 90
PHILADELPHIA -- Guard Bradley Beal scored 21 points and the hot-shooting Washington Wizards ripped the Philadelphia 76ers 119-90 on Wednesday night to win their fourth straight game.
Guard Ramon Sessions added a season-high 19 points and center Marcin Gortat had 18 for the Wizards, who shot a franchise-record 65.3 percent from the field despite resting guard John Wall and forward Nene.
Gortat made 8 of 9 shots from the floor, one week after going 10 of 11 in a 106-93 victory over Philadelphia. Washington (45-33) shot 57.9 percent in that game, its previous season high.
Forward Robert Covington scored a career-high 27 points for Philadelphia, which dropped its seventh straight to fall to 13-61. The skid is the longest by the Sixers since they dropped their first 17 games of the season.
Guard Jason Richardson scored 17 points off the bench for Philadelphia.
Beal went 7 of 9 from the floor and made all three of his 3-point attempts, and Sessions went 5 of 7 from the floor, including 2 of 2 from behind the arc. He also had seven assists.
In all, six players scored in double figures for Washington, which had 54 points in the paint and led by as many as 29 points in the fourth quarter.
Their accuracy from the floor is also the best against the Sixers in any game this season.
Gortat made his first seven shots, six of them in the first eight minutes, when Washington stormed to a 27-12 lead. The Wizards maintained a double-digit advantage the rest of the half, stretching it to 70-51 in the closing seconds before Richardson beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer.
Gortat finished the half with 16 points and Sessions had 14 for Washington, which shot 72.2 percent from the field in the first two quarters and generated 34 points in the paint.
Covington paced the Sixers with 17 points.
Philadelphia closed to 82-71 with 5:30 left in the third quarter when backup forward Jerami Grant capped a 10-0 run with a thunderous dunk after a steal and feed by center/forward Nerlens Noel. The Wizards countered with 3-pointers on their next three possession by Sessions, Beal and forward Paul Pierce, respectively, to stretch their lead to 91-71.
Washington was up 95-77 at the end of the quarter.
NOTES: Sixers C Joel Embiid, out all season after undergoing foot surgery last summer, played two-on-two after practice Monday. Asked before the game what the next step might be, coach Brett Brown said Embiid is "probably eight to 10 days away" from engaging in more strenuous on-court activity. "Bottom line," Brown said, "he's moving in the direction that we're getting closer to making a final statement on summer league." ... Brown said there is no plan for C/F Nerlens Noel to play in the summer league. ... Washington F Paul Pierce returned after resting the previous three games. ... Sixers C/F Nerlens Noel left the game in the fourth quarter with a sprained right ankle and did not return.