Tyrese Maxey scored 35 points to spearhead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 121-102 win over the visiting Washington Wizards on Tuesday.
Jared McCain chipped in 15 points for Philadelphia, which played without Joel Embiid, Quentin Grimes and Kelly Oubre Jr. The Sixers avoided their fourth loss in five games thanks to productive nights from Maxey and McCain, as well as double-doubles from Andre Drummond (12 points, 10 rebounds) and Jabari Walker (10 and 12).
The Wizards were trying to win back-to-back games for the first time this season, but came up short despite a season-high 16 points from Tristan Vukcevic. Justin Champagnie, Marvin Bagley III and Will Riley all added 13 points for Washington, which played without Alex Sarr and Khris Middleton, among others.
Washington trailed by 12 points at halftime before bursting out of the locker room with seven straight points, including five by Kyshawn George.
Shortly afterward, Paul George’s 3-pointer ignited a 13-2 run by Philadelphia that also included five points from Dominick Barlow. Maxey’s three-point play finished the rally, giving the hosts an 82-65 lead.
About a minute later, McCain’s 3-pointer pushed the Sixers’ lead to 20 for the first time.
Maxey scored 14 points in the final 3:10 of the period to give the Sixers a 101-77 lead after three quarters. In all, he scored 20 points in the third quarter — five more than the rest of his teammates combined.
Philadelphia opened the fourth quarter on a 14-2 run and cruised to the finish line.
The Sixers knocked down six 3-pointers in the first quarter en route to a 34-31 lead after 12 minutes.
Philadelphia led by as many as 14 near the midway point of the second quarter, although the Wizards responded with seven quick points. Still, the hosts rebuilt their advantage back to 16 before settling for a 66-54 lead at the break.
Maxey led all scorers with 15 first-half points, while Champagnie paced Washington with 13 points in the opening half.
