WASHINGTON — The ball slipped out of De’Antony Melton’s hands while he was free under the basket but flew right into 76ers teammate P.J. Tucker’s grasp for the open layup.
It was a fitting sequence for a sloppy Halloween night, but that particular fortuitous path of the ball helped the Sixers finish off a 118-111 victory over the Wizards Monday night at Capital One Arena.
It was the Sixers’ third win in a row, to pull their record to an even 4-4 following a disappointing 1-4 start to a season with NBA championship aspirations. They’ll next play eight of their next nine games at home, starting with a rematch against these Wizards Wednesday night.
After a clunky first half that saw both teams combine for 17 turnovers for 16 points in a 52-52 tie, the Sixers blew the game open during a seven-minute stretch that overlapped the third and fourth quarters. Tyrese Maxey’s dunk through contact — which he celebrated by skipping out of bounds — capped a 24-4 run to flip a 71-68 Sixers deficit into a 92-75 advantage.
The Wizards answered with a rally to pull within 105-97 on two Kristaps Porzingis free throws with about five minutes to play, but two De’Anthony Melton layups off Wizards turnovers pushed that lead back to double digits. Another Melton finish inside, plus a Tobias Harris three-pointer, later gave the Sixers a 116-106 lead with 1:10 remaining.
It was the second time in the past three games that Sixers All-NBA center Joel Embiid did not play, this time due to a non-COVID illness. Coach Doc Rivers again went with a small-ball lineup featuring the 6-foot-5 veteran Tucker, who scored a season-high 13 points with a multitude of free looks under the basket early in the game. But the Wizards, who boast the 7-foot-3 Porzingis, scored 30 of their 50 points in the paint in the first half.
And though Maxey did not put up the career scoring night he had when Embiid was out Friday, he did emerge again as the Sixers’ main source of offensive firepower with 28 points on 12-of-22 shooting on a blend of drives to the basket and deep pull-up three-pointers.
All five Sixers starters finished in double figures, including 23 points, a season-high 17 assists and seven rebounds from James Harden and 16 points apiece from Melton and Tobias Harris.
Harden’s hot start
Harden carried the Sixers in the first quarter, racking up 15 points and six assists.
He scored by finishing a layup through contact, which left him with a gash on his left arm that required tape to stop the bleeding. He converted a four-point play, throwing both arms out to the side when he sank the three despite the bump. He hit an elbow jumper, another sign that midrange shots are becoming more a part of his game.
Deep bench
The Sixers played 11 of their 13 available players, partially because of a head/face injury to backup center Montrezl Harrell that required medical-staff attention on the bench and gave Paul Reed unexpected second-quarter minutes.
That second unit provided punch during that surge at the end of the third, thanks to three buckets by Harrell and a three-pointer by Niang. Niang continued his hot shooting in the fourth, finishing 4-of-7 from deep for 12 points.
The only available Sixers who did not play were Furkan Korkmaz and Jaden Springer.
