Story By: Richard Thomas
Photos By: Sol Tucker
Washington, D.C–
If John Wall is making a statement over the past two games what type of All Star player he is, well tonight he was at it again with another stellar performance to lead his team to a 106-94 victory over the 76ers, which in the second half, was much closer than the box score reveals.
Wall had 18 points, a career-high 13 rebounds and 10 assists for his fourth career triple-double, and the Wizards beat the 76ers 106-94 on Friday.
“I had a lot of chances to get a lot of them, but I missed them by like one rebound or one assist,” said Wall, who was coming off a 41-point performance in a loss to Golden State on Wednesday. “It was more important to get a win, get on the right track.”
By midway through the third, the Wizards led 76-51. The 76ers cut the lead to 92-83 with 6:12 to play, but made no further headway.
“We have to come out and be competitive and know these teams are going to try and swing at us early, try to knock us out,” Sixers Guard Ish Smith said. “With the exception of that first quarter, we were unbelievable. Our second, third and fourth quarters were pretty freaking good. I think we just got thrown off with how much of a rush they came out with.”
It was interesting to see the way that Smith played tonight against the Wizards, who cut him during training camp this season. Smith has become a leader on this team that contains talent, they just can’t seem to find a way to use all in the right way each night.
In their game prior to tonight, the 76ers were blown out by 38 points against Atlanta, so keeping this game under 10 points was a miracle by most standards.
Next up for the Wizards a trip to Charlotte for a game with the Hornets tomorrow night.
