Sixers vs. Wizards at a glance
76ers vs. Washington Wizards at a glance
TEAMS: Sixers (12-25) vs. Wizards (19-19)
WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Verizon Center
BROADCASTS: TV – CSN RADIO – 97.5 FM
SOCIAL MEDIA COVERAGE: TWITTER – @PompeyOnSixers, INSTAGRAM – PompeyOnSixers
411 on Wizards: Washington is coming off a 117-108 road setback to the Boston Celtics. Before that, the Wizards were riding their third three-game winning steak of the season.
Washington boasts one of the league's best point guard in All-Star John Wall, who averaged 22.8 points and 10.3 asssists per game. Wall missed Friday's practice due to pain in his right pinkie finger and his left wrist. However, he's expected to play against the Sixers.
PROBABLE STARTERS
SIXERS (12-25)
33 Robert Covington SF 6-9 10.3 ppg. 1.79 spg.
7 Ersan Ilyasova PF 6-10 14.3 ppg. 6.3 rpg.
4 Nerlens Noel C 6-11 7.8 ppg. 3.5 bpg.
11 Nik Stauskas SG 6-6 9.2 ppg. 2.0 apg.
1 T.J. McConnell PG 6-2 4.9 ppg. 5.3 apg.
Coach: Brett Brown (Fourth season, 59-224)
Injury report: Ben Simmons (right foot fracture, out), Jerryd Bayless, (left wrist ligament tear, out), Joel Embiid (left ankle sprain, probable)
WIZARDS (19-19)
22 Otto Portor SF 6-8 14.2 ppg. 6.5 rpg.
5 Markieff Morris PF 6-10 13.2 ppg 6.0 rpg.
13 Marcin Gortat C 6-11 11.5 ppg. 11.8 rpg.
3 Bradley Beal SG 6-5 22.5 ppg. 3.6 apg.
2 John Wall PG 6-4 22.8 ppg. 10.3 apg.
Coach: Scott Brooks (eighth season, 357-226)
Injury report: Danuel House (right wrist fracture, out), Ian Mahinmi (platelet-rich plasma treatment on both knees, out), Tomas Satoransky (illness, questionable).
THE SERIES
The Sixers own a 176-118 series advantage and have lost six of the last seven matchups.
LAS VEGAS LINE
OFF
LAST SERIES MEETING
Nov. 16 was as good an opportunity as any for the Sixers to get their second victory of the season.
The Wizards trotted onto the Wells Fargo Center court minus Beal, their second-best player. Meanwhile, their best player, Wall, was trying to get into a groove following offseason surgery on both knees.
And in addition to not being fully healthy, the Wizards, it could be argued, were just as bad as the Sixers. Correction, they were worse than the Sixers, at least they were on that.
The Sixers jumped out to a 24-point second-quarter lead and held on for a 109-102 victory.
Washington battled back as the Sixers' Jahlil Okafor and Ilyasova fouled in the fourth quarter.
Ilyasova's sixth foul with 1 minute, 29 seconds left put Wall on the foul line. He hit both shots to pull Washington within three points, 103-100.
But reserve center Richaun Holmes, who replaced Ilyasova, responded on the ensuing possession with a wide-open corner three at the 1:10 mark to push the Sixers' lead back up to six points.
Then Sergio Rodriguez gave them a 108-102 lead with a pair of foul shots with 18.3 seconds left.
Dario Saric added a foul shot with 1.2 seconds left to give the Sixers their seven-point victory.
Okafor, who started in place of Embiid, finished with 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting before fouling out with 2:56 left. Ten of his points came in the second quarter, when he made all four of his attempts
Ilyasova added 16 points while making 4 of 8 three-pointers before fouling out. This was his first start since he was acquired in a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder on Nov. 1. Saric, the person Ilyasova replaced, recorded his second double-double of the season. The rookie power forward had 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Stauskas added 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting in a reserve role. He returned after spraining his ankle early in the fourth quarter. Rodriguez added seven points and 12 assists.
UPCOMING GAMES
Monday: 3:30 p.m., at BMO Harris Bradley Center, Sixers vs. Milwaukee Bucks
Wednesday: 7 p.m., at Wells Fargo Center, Toronto Raptors vs. Sixers.
Jan. 20: 7 p.m., at Wells Fargo Center, Portland Trail Blazers vs. Sixers
Jan. 21: 7 p.m., at Philips Arena, Sixers at Atlanta Hawks
Jan. 24: 7 p.m., at Wells Fargo Center, Los Angeles Clippers vs. Sixers
Follow and contact 76ers beat writer Keith Pompey on Twitter and on Instagram at PompeyOnSixers.