PHILADELPHIA — Kristaps Porzingis had 30 points and nine rebounds, Bradley Beal added 29 points and the Washington Wizards took advantage of Joel Embiid’s absence for a 121-111 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.
Kyle Kuzma also added 18 points for Washington, which didn’t trail for the final three quarters of the game.
Tyrese Maxey scored 32 points for the 76ers, while James Harden had 24 and Tobias Harris added 16.
Embiid missed his third game of the season, sitting out with an illness the team said was not related to COVID-19. Sixers coach Doc Rivers said Embiid has the flu and has not been around the team in recent days to avoid spreading it around the locker room. Embiid, who has averaged 27.2 points and 9.5 rebounds in six games, missed Monday night’s game in Washington for the same reason.
Washington controlled the inside against Philadelphia’s backups of P.J. Tucker and Paul Reed. The Wizards outscored the 76ers by a 69-38 margin in the paint and a 50-40 edge on the boards.
TIP-INS
Wizards: Washington played Delon Wright (right hamstring strain) for the fourth straight game. Wright has averaged 6.5 points in a reserve point guard role, shooting 41.7 percent from the floor.
76ers: G De’Anthony Melton missed the game with lower back soreness. … The game time was bumped up to 6:05 p.m. to avoid conflict with Game 4 of the World Series, which was taking place across the street from Wells Fargo at Citizens Bank Park. The crowd was noticeably thinner than a normal Sixers game would draw.
UP NEXT
Wizards: Host Brooklyn on Friday.
76ers: Host New York on Friday.
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