Wizards Snap 76ers' Eight-Game Win Streak in Washington Tuesday

Coming off their eighth-straight victory on Christmas Day, the Philadelphia 76ers left New York City to hit the road to Washington, DC. On Tuesday night, the Sixers geared up to face another Atlantic Division opponent, the Washington Wizards.

Earlier this year, the Sixers and the Wizards met in back-to-back games. The first matchup on October 31 was in the Nation’s Capital. Without Joel Embiid, the Sixers went into the Capital One Arena and defeated the Wizards 118-111

Two nights later, the Wizards got their payback. Exploiting a Joel Embiid-less lineup, Kristaps Porzingis and the Sixers put on an impressive performance by taking down the Sixers 121-111. On Tuesday, the two teams met once more for a matchup, marking the third meeting between the two squads this year.

Quarter Breakdown

1st Quarter

The Sixers picked up right where they left off from Sunday’s game. As they finished Sunday’s matchup in New York with a red-hot fourth quarter from the field, the 76ers looked just as sharp on Tuesday night in DC.

Whatever look the Sixers wanted, they could get in the opening minutes of Tuesday's game. The start of the game featured fancy passes from James Harden and offensive dominance from Embiid.

The big man finished the first quarter with more than half of the Sixers’ points. In nine minutes, Embiid drained six of his nine shots from the field and all of his free throws, accounting for 16 points.

While the Wizards looked lackluster on offense, turning the ball over six times in six minutes, Washington got it together and started to put up their performance on the offensive end. With a little over two minutes left to go in the first quarter, the Wizards were knocking down nearly 70 percent of their field goal attempts.

By the end of the first quarter, the Wizards were out in front with a two-point lead. Washington guard Bradley Beal led the way with 11 points in nine minutes.

2nd Quarter

After a hot shooting half for the Wizards, they started to pull away a bit in the second quarter. Early on, Washington formed a ten-point run, forcing the Sixers to trot out Joel Embiid and James Harden a few minutes into the quarter.

The Sixers and the Wizards each traded seven shots from beyond the arc in the third quarter. Washington knocked down over 40 percent of their threes, while the Sixers shot just 14 percent from deep.

The efficient shooting was key for the Wizards’ second-half run. Both Wizards stars Porzingis and Beal drained at least 57 percent of their shots from the field and 50 percent of their threes through the first half. Meanwhile, the Wizards got a nice boost from Rui Hachimura off the bench, as he went 4-6 from the field for ten points.

Going into halftime, the Sixers trailed the Wizards 56-67.

3rd Quarter

The 76ers kept up with their recent trend of being a second-half squad. After a rather underwhelming start to the matchup, the Sixers looked much more improved on both ends of the floor. Sixers’ veteran PJ Tucker, who’s been battling a pinched nerve, was clearly battling with his injury at the start of the second half.

The Sixers went to Georges Niang early, which has proven to be a valuable move as of late. Locking down defensively, the Sixers halted the Wizards’ steady offensive attack. As we’ve seen many times before, Philadelphia’s defensive improvements helped the team improve on the offensive end, as the offense flowed much better with ideal ball movement.

There was a scare for the Sixers in the third quarter, as the big man Joel Embiid took a hard fall with a little over three minutes left to go in the quarter. Although he was shaken up, Embiid stayed on the floor. While he would’ve likely remained in the game for the entire third quarter as the Sixers were hitting their stride, Embiid was subbed out as he picked up his fourth foul. Shortly after, the big man went back to the locker room to get checked out.

The Sixers built up a lot of momentum in the third quarter to minimize a once-16-point lead, but they still trailed by nine points going into the fourth quarter.

4th Quarter

Although Embiid went out at the end of the third quarter with a suspected injury, the big man returned to the team's bench after getting everything checked out. As expected, Embiid was cleared for action and eventually made his return to the court.

The star center's presence once again made a positive difference for Philadelphia. Once the Sixers started picking up more steam, they brought the game within a one-possession deficit. Unfortunately for Philly, they failed to complete the comeback this time around despite being within arm's reach.

With a final chance to get a basket with over 20 seconds left to go, the Sixers failed to capitalize and lost possession of the ball, which led to the 76ers to begin fouling intentionally as they got desperate.

The Wizards managed to maintain their lead in the end and snapped Philadelphia's notable win streak. With a 116-111 loss, the Sixers drop to 20-13 on the year, losing their first game in nine matchups.

Player of the Game

Kristaps Porzingis

Going into Tuesday’s game, Doc Rivers mentioned that Kristaps Porzingis played excellently in the two matchups against them earlier in the year. As expected, Porzingis’ performance was key to a Wizards win on Tuesday night. Not only did he lead Washington in scoring with efficient shooting from the field, but he had an impressive night on the boards as well.