Alex Sarr led the way with 24 points as the hot-shooting Washington Wizards snapped a five-game losing streak with a 119-114 road victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday.
Justin Champagnie contributed 18 points and 10 rebounds for Washington (16-56), while Jordan Poole also pitched in with 18 points. The Wizards shot 50.5 percent from the floor and 40.9 percent (18 of 44) from the 3-point arc, getting four triples apiece from Sarr, Champagnie and Poole.
Quentin Grimes scored 22 points and Guerschon Yabusele had 21 to pace the Sixers (23-50). Justin Edwards (19 points, 10 rebounds) posted his first career double-double for Philadelphia, which lost its sixth straight game.
Washington put up 45 points during a dominant first quarter in which the visitors shot 63 percent from the floor and 9-for-12 from 3-point range. Sarr (13 points) and Champagnie (11) each made three 3-pointers in the opening period.
The Wizards led by 10 points less than five minutes into the game and they were up by 16 after the opening session as Colby Jones drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Washington’s sweet shooting did not carry over into the second quarter, as the Wizards shot just 2-for-9 from beyond the arc in the period. The Sixers outscored the Wizards 29-22 in the quarter to close their deficit to 67-58 at halftime.
The Wizards began to create some significant separation midway through the third quarter.
A layup by Justin Edwards drew Philadelphia within 78-71 before Washington scored the next 11 points. Sarr’s 3-pointer created a 12-point advantage before Poole knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead to 89-71.
The hosts whittled their deficit to single digits before Jones once again drained a 3-pointer at the end of the quarter, sending Washington into the fourth with a 97-85 lead.
It appeared the Wizards would cruise to the finish line after AJ Johnson’s 3-pointer made it 115-99 with 4:44 remaining. However, the Sixers scored the next seven points — five by Grimes — to make things interesting, and then Jeff Dowtin Jr.’s layup made it 117-113 with 38.3 seconds to go.
Washington was forced to scramble on its next possession, but Sarr bailed out his team by sinking a runner late in the shot clock as the Wizards held on.
–Field Level Media
