The Wizards were never competitive in this one.
The Washington Wizards lost to the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday, 146-101.
Both teams entered this contest as familiar foes, facing each other just five days prior in Washington. The Sixers narrowly won that game, 131-126.
The key difference between Monday’s game and the previous matchup was the absence of Wizards center Daniel Gafford, who missed Monday’s game with a right hip injury. That meant that Mike Muscala had to step up in the starting role and guard Joel Embiid. That matchup went as you would expect. Emiid dropped 34 points and 10 rebounds through three quarters of play, sitting the fourth quarter in this blowout win.
The Sixers came out firing, hitting their first five threes en route to a 19-2 start. They never looked back in this one, with the Wizards only getting as close as nine points from that point on.
After shooting 60% from three in the first quarter, Philadelphia led by 16. Washington turned it over six times in the quarter, allowed 43 points and simply didn’t show up to play.
More of the same occurred to finish the half, with Philadelphia dominating every aspect of the contest. Things got so out of hand that Patrick Baldwin Jr., who hadn’t played any meaningful minutes all season, entered the game to begin the second quarter.
At the half, the Sixers led 75-46, controlling every phase of the game.
Nothing changed in the second half. Philadelphia gave the ball to Embiid, who went to work in the post and drew foul after foul. The Wizards would periodically send double-teams, but the reigning MVP swung passes to open teammates who knocked down those open looks.
Entering the final frame, Washington trailed by 45 points. End-of-the-bench guys like Eugene Omoruyi, Jared Butler and Jules Bernard played the majority of the fourth quarter, getting some helpful NBA reps.
Philadelphia won the contest in blowout fashion, 146-101.
Kyle Kuzma led the Wizards in scoring with 21. Bilal Coulibaly poured in 13 points and 8 rebounds off the bench.
Washington returns home on Wednesday to take on New Orleans at 7 p.m.