WASHINGTON — Joel Embiid clearly thought about attempting the potential game-tying three-pointer with less than a minute to play, but tried to drive to the bucket instead.
The NBA’s leading scorer got his shot blocked by Deni Avdija on the way, spoiling another dominant, 48-point effort as the Sixers saw their eight-game winning streak snapped in a 116-111 loss to the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night at Capital One Arena.
The Sixers trailed by as many as 16 points against the Wizards, who entered Tuesday with 11 losses in their previous 13 games, and could not claw all the way back. They had multiple chances to tie or cut into an 111-108 deficit in the game’s final two minutes, but Embiid tripped and lost the ball out of bounds and De’Anthony Melton missed a contested transition layup before the All-NBA big man’s miss at the rim.
The Sixers used a 17-5 run in the third quarter to get within 88-85 on a pair of Embiid free throws late in the period to set up the tight final frame.
It was another gaudy stat line for Embiid, who also finished with nine rebounds, three blocks and three steals. He accounted for 16 of the Sixers’ first 23 points, then finished the first half with 26 on 10-of-15 shooting. After missing his first four shots of the second half, he scored 10 points during that third-quarter surge to briefly make it a game.
The Sixers next play a road back-to-back set at the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday and Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday.
Another first-half hole
For the third consecutive game, the Sixers fell into a double-digit first-half hole. They rallied to beat the Los Angeles Clippers and New York Knicks but could not repeat the formula a third time. Kristaps Porzingis led the Wizards with 24 points and 11 rebounds.
The Wizards first built that advantage with a 22-9 run during the non-Embiid minutes that overlapped the first and second quarters. Even after Embiid returned, Washington extended its lead to 64-49 on a Monte Morris finish with about two minutes to play.
Washington shot 55.8% in the first half, with 17 points from Bradley Beal, 14 from Kristaps Porzingis and 10 from Rui Hachimura. The Sixers, meanwhile, made just two of their 16 three-point attempts before the break.
Rotation watch
Though Tyrese Maxey remained out with a fractured foot Tuesday, coach Doc Rivers continues to tinker with a roster that is far more replenished than it was a few weeks ago.
Matisse Thybulle, who had played less than seven minutes in three of his last four games, entered the game before fellow defensive wing Danuel House Jr. But House took that slot over Thybulle in the second half.
Montrezl Harrell and Paul Reed, meanwhile, both got backup center minutes. Harrell entered for Embiid late in the first quarter and scored seven points on 3-of-3 shooting in four minutes. But, early in the second, Reed replaced Harrell and also got in the game for a defensive possession late in the first half while Embiid had two fouls. Harrell again got the center minutes when Embiid took his second-half break.
Tucker injured
The pinched nerve in P.J. Tucker’s right hand clearly bothered him Tuesday, after he hit the floor on a third-quarter offensive foul committed by Porzingis.
Tucker repeatedly opened and closed his hand and shook his arm on the bench during a timeout while being attended to by head athletic trainer Kevin Johnson. He went back to the locker room at the start of the fourth quarter and never returned to the game.
Georges Niang immediately took Tucker’s place in the lineup finished with 28 minutes.
