John Wall has 25 points, Wizards beat 76ers 109-93 (Jan 14, 2017)
WASHINGTON (AP) John Wall's left wrist and right pinky were both sore, and for the last two days he'd practiced wearing a splint on the right hand.
Wall never doubted he'd play, and he scored 25 points to lead the Washington Wizards to a 109-93 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night.
Wall scoffed when asked if there was any uncertainty that he'd play.
''Come on, you should know better than that. Not at all. Not at all,'' Wall said.
Wall, who also had seven rebounds and seven assists, and the Wizards outscored the 76ers 30-15 in the third quarter to take an 86-71 lead.
He hit three straight 3-pointers late in the third quarter and celebrated with some new dance steps.
''I did some moves I never tried before,'' Wall joked.
Philadelphia raced to an early 13-point lead, but the Wizards outscored the 76ers 24-11 in the final minutes of the first half for a 56-all halftime tie.
''Late second quarter, you could feel the gym turning, you could feel our guys turn,'' Philadelphia coach Brett Brown said.
The 76ers had won three straight for the first time in more than three years. They played without rookie star Joel Embiid. He sat out to rest after scoring 24 points Thursday night against Charlotte.
Jahlil Okafor, who hadn't played in the last three games, had a season-high 26 points for the 76ers.
The Wizards have won 11 straight at home, their longest home winning streak since a 15-game run form Feb. 9-Apr. 7, 1989.
TIP INS:
76ers: Ben Simmons, the top draft choice last summer, hasn't played thus far because of a stress fracture in his right foot. There's no timetable for his return, but Brown says having him travel with the team is a positive.
''Just the team having the ability to talk to him, rub shoulders with him, and share ideas, be on buses, be on planes. I think it's just one other reminder that we're going to get better,'' Brown said.
Wizards: Wall was fined $15,000 for his part in the postgame tussle with Boston's Jae Crowder on Wednesday ... F Otto Porter left with a strained right hip late in the third quarter, but Porter said he wasn't concerned. . Wall and Bradley Beal, who had 20 points, outscored their Philadelphia starting counterparts, Nik Stauskas and T.J. McConnell 47-6.
INSPIRING WALL
Beal also was confident Wall would play.
''That's how he is. If it's not broke, he's going to play,'' Beal said
Washington coach Scott Brooks was certain Wall was going to play, too.
''He knows his body as well as anybody,'' Brooks said. ''I would never put him out there if it was going to jeopardize him.''
OKAFOR STEPS IN
Okafor started in place of Embiid, and played a season-high 35 minutes.
''It felt good to get back on the court,'' Okafor said. ''I thought it was decent. I did feel myself starting to get winded but I was able to fight through it a little bit but I just worked as hard as I could.''
PROCESS SERVED: As the Sixers suffered through three awful seasons, losing 199 games, the team's mantra was ''Trust the Process.''
It's caught on. Fans who bussed down from Philadelphia chanted it during the first half, and Brooks joked about it when he was asked about the Sixers' improvement.
''The process is paying off, right?'' Brooks cracked.
UP NEXT:
76ers: At Milwaukee on Monday.
Wizards: Host Portland on Monday.
