Washington survived two lengthy delays, two blown leads, and two overtimes to defeat the 76ers 125-119 for their first win of the 2016 preseason.
The Wizards were up by 8 with 2:34 left in regulation, but the 76ers went on an 11-3 run, keyed in part by a pair of costly turnovers by the Wizards in the closing seconds to force overtime.
It looked like they would escape after only one overtime thanks to a clutch bucket by Kelly Oubre with 30 seconds left, but Hollis Thompson responded with a three pointer on the other end to tie it back up and extend a game with no meaning for an extra five minutes.
Tomas Satoransky and Kelly Oubre once again led the way off the bench, sparking big rallies when they were on the floor. Satoransky finished with 10 points, 6 assists and 6 rebounds. For the second straight game Oubre led the team in scoring, finishing with 24 points on 12 shots.
It was another rough night for the Wizards’ starters without John Wall in the lineup. The 76ers scored the first 11 points in the game and kept Bradley Beal and Trey Burke from getting into a rhythm, as they combined to shoot 6-17 from the field. Markieff Morris also had his share of issues. He picked up two early fouls and was a non-factor until the second half.
Though it took a lot longer than expected, a win is still is a win. Here’s what else we noticed from Thursday’s action:
Marcin Gortat is fine
There was some concern that maybe the Polish Hammer lost a step after Hassan Whiteside thoroughly dominated the Wizards on Tuesday, but he did a great job of alleviating those concerns against Philadelphia. He tallied 17 points on 12 shots and cleaned up some missed shots on the offensive glass.
In other words, it was a classic Marcin Gortat game. He may not be able to shut down Hassan Whiteside, but he’s still really solid against almost everyone else.
Ian Mahinmi shows why the Wizards signed him
The Wizards’ $64 million man got his first action with the team and delivered on a lot of the things he was expected to bring with the Wizards. He helped shore up the team’s interior defense, and had a nice moment offensively during his limited action.
Welcome to Washington, Ian. #WizSixers on @CSNMA pic.twitter.com/iNfmAnWKkg
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) October 6, 2016
Kelly Oubre comes through with another high scoring game
Oubre quietly led the Wizards with 16 points in the preseason opener against the Heat. He had another solid scoring game against the 76ers, finishing with 24 points on 8-12 shooting.
He continues to do really well on spot-up opportunities, which he’s getting more often in the preseason playing with Tomas Satoransky. The next step is learning when to bail on those drives to the rim where the defense has converged on him. Right now, it feels like this is the Kelly Oubre Decision Tree:
Hopefully that will come with time. At least his handle has improved to the point where he can get into the lane with more ease (save for a costly turnover in the closing seconds), so there’s definitely something to work with there.
Sheldon McClellan continues to impress
The undrafted rookie out of Miami has cemented his status as the best player on the roster with an unguaranteed contract. His athleticism has made him useful in transition and on defense, and he shows some promise on the offensive end that can be developed with time. We’ll see if Brooks continues to give McClellan minutes throughout preseason or if he’ll shuffle in other players on unguaranteed deals like Jarell Eddie and Danuel House in the coming weeks.