Wizards 103, 76ers 94
PHILADELPHIA -- Guard John Wall had 23 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds as the Washington Wizards beat the Philadelphia 76ers 103-94 on Friday night.
It was the 33rd double-double of the season for Wall, who had a triple-double in Washington's victory over Philadelphia on Feb. 5. He notched six of his points in a 13-0 Washington burst bridging the third and fourth quarters, when the Wizards (27-30) erased a six-point deficit and took the lead for good.
Forward Jared Dudley added 14 points for Washington, which ended a three-game road losing streak. Backup guard Ramon Sessions had 12 points, and center Marcin Gortat contributed 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Center Jahlil Okafor had 21 points to lead Philadelphia, which has the NBA's worst record and lost its seventh straight to fall to 8-50. The Sixers have also dropped 11 of 12.
Guard Nik Stauskas chipped in 15 points, and forward Robert Covington had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Sixers. Guard Ish Smith collected 10 points, eight assists and seven boards.
Philadelphia led 72-66 late in the third quarter when Wall went to work. He streaked the length of the court for a layup after a Philadelphia basket, set up center Nene for a layup and hit a jumper from the left wing.
Dudley added a basket, and Wall took a feed from fellow guard Bradley Beal and laid the ball in with 2.9 seconds left in the quarter. Dudley then swished a 3-pointer to open the fourth-quarter scoring, giving Washington a 79-72 edge.
Philadelphia drew no closer than four after that.
Sixers coach Brett Brown was looking for improved defense on the part of his starters, because Philadelphia had allowed at least 30 points in the first quarter of its first four games after the All-Star break. His club limited the Wizards to 35.7-percent shooting to take a 26-21 lead after one quarter.
The Sixers made it an eight-point lead, 37-29, when backup point guard T.J. McConnell, back after missing Wednesday's game in Detroit with an ankle sprain, took a feed from center/forward Nerlens Noel and nudged in a layup early in the second quarter.
Washington momentarily surged ahead, but the Sixers reeled off 11 straight points, the last six of those by Okafor, to go up 52-43. It was 52-48 at halftime, and Okafor had 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
Washington, which shot just 39.2 percent in the first 24 minutes, was led by forward Otto Porter Jr. with nine points in the first half.
NOTES: Sixers chairman of basketball operations Jerry Colangelo said before the game that he has reached "no conclusions" about the roster since joining the team in December and that he will use the final seven weeks of the season to learn as much as he can. He also said he understands that premium free agents are usually attracted to better teams. "It's a little premature for us to think that we are that destination, but our goal is to become that," he said. "We want to be a player." ... Wizards G Gary Neal missed his seventh straight game with a sore right leg. ... Washington F J.J. Hickson, signed Thursday after being bought out earlier in the week by Denver, was inactive. "He just got here," coach Randy Wittman said, "so tomorrow will be a good day for him, and we'll begin the process there (at practice)."