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Last time the Wizards played in Philadelphia, they got blown out by 25 points. It was deja vu all over again as the Wizards were run off the court again, this time by 17 points in a 132-115 loss on Tuesday evening.
Jimmy Butler and Joel Embiid scored 20 points each, with most of their damage coming in the first half but it was rookie Landry Shamet who stole the show with a game-high 29 points and knocked down 8 of his 14 three-point attempts. Bradley Beal continued his hot shooting as he led Washington with 28 points but didn’t get much help from his teammates as no one else cracked double figures until well into garbage time.
Funny enough, the Wizards were letting it fly from three-point range and were connecting on their shots starting 7-of-11 from the field to start this one for an early 20-12 lead. But at the 5:51 mark of the first quarter, Tomas Satoransky would pick up his second foul and things took a turn for the worse.
Philadelphia found it’s footing behind some hot shooting from Jimmy Butler and easy transition baskets from Ben Simmons for a 32-29 lead after the first quarter. Washington then shot a putrid 1-of-8 from the field to start the second quarter and the Sixers took full advantage with a 16-0 run later in the quarter to open an insurmountable lead.
The Wizards were outscored 36-16 in the second period and found themselves in a 68-45 hole as this one was over by halftime.
Yes, the two teams play again on Wednesday night, but to get a feeling for how bad this one was, both teams began emptying their benches before the end of the third period.
Takeaways
Everything fell apart in the second quarter
Even though the Wizards trailed after one quarter, there was still reason for optimism. The team was connecting on their three-point attempts and if they just could have knocked down a few more open looks, they would have had the lead.
A second quarter onslaught from the 76ers put any optimism to bed. Philly’s bench caught fire and specifically, Landry Shamet who scored 12 points in the period on 4-of-7 shooting from three-point range.
To make matters worse, the Sixers went on another extended 16-0 run later in the quarter to take a commanding 64-38 lead.
Bradley Beal gets no scoring help
Tonight was a prime example of Beal’s under-appreciated season. Beal single-handily kept the Wizards afloat in the first quarter. He was slicing through the lane for easy layups, got his man on skates to shake free for a few mid-range jumpers, and connected on a three-pointer for 11 first quarter points.
The rest of the guys sure didn’t help in the second quarter either as Beal scored seven in the period but the rest of the Wizards roster mustered up just nine points. Come halftime, Beal was the only Washington player in double figures with 18 points and the next highest scorers were Thomas Bryant, Tomas Satoransky, and Jeff Green who each scored just five.
Beal would shoot 61 percent from the field and knocked down four three-pointers for a team-high 28 points in 31 minutes of action tonight.
No time to fret for Washington
The Wizards must forget about this game and do so quickly as they’ll play this same Philadelphia squad in D.C. in less than 24 hours.