The Washington Wizards will pursue their first winning streak of the season when they visit the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday.
After losing 15 of its first 16 games, Washington has posted two wins in its last three contests. The Wizards topped the Atlanta Hawks 132-113 and defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 129-126, sandwiched around a 33-point loss to the Indiana Pacers.
In each of their two recent wins, the Wizards have relied on CJ McCollum to do much of the heavy lifting. The veteran guard scored a season-high 46 points in the victory over visiting Atlanta on Nov. 25 before draining a clutch, contested 3-pointer with 15 seconds left in Washington’s home triumph against Milwaukee on Monday.
“Great players make great plays, and we’re really lucky to have both of those guys within our organization,” Washington coach Brian Keefe said of McCollum (28 points) and Khris Middleton (15).
In addition to the strong contributions from those two, Washington received 22 from Marvin Bagley III and 17 from Cam Whitmore. Bilal Coulibaly was limited to seven points, but Keefe was delighted with his defense.
“Sometimes you have to grind games out in the NBA. We grinded that one out because of our defense and Bilal was the head of that for sure,” said Keefe, whose team played without Alex Sarr (groin) and will take the court without the second-year standout again on Tuesday.
The Wizards have lost nine consecutive road games since defeating the Dallas Mavericks 117-107 on Oct. 24.
Philadelphia enters play Tuesday with three losses in its past four games, including a 142-134 double-overtime defeat to the visiting Hawks on Sunday. The 76ers erased an eight-point deficit in the last minute of regulation and then blew a lead in the final second of the first overtime before falling in the second extra session.
With the Sixers monitoring minutes for Joel Embiid — not to mention several other players recovering from injuries — Tyrese Maxey continues to be the offensive focal point. He played 52 minutes against Atlanta, scoring 44 points and dishing out nine assists.
“He’s a warrior,” said Sixers forward Paul George, who contributed 16 points in 28 minutes. “He’s a warrior. No question about it. He’s a warrior. He’s a fighter. He takes so many hits. Teams holding, grabbing, he hits the ground so many times (and) he bounces right back up. Again, I keep saying it, man. It’s a leadership (quality) about him.”
Embiid, who had 18 points in 30 minutes, is going to miss the Tuesday contest as he continues to recuperate from offseason knee surgery. Still, the former NBA MVP believes he is making progress.
“I thought the first half (against Atlanta) was pretty good,” Embiid said. “When it’s been almost a month and you’ve only had about two court sessions, going up and down, it’s going to be tough.”
George (back) and Drummond (knee) were listed as questionable for Tuesday, while Kelly Oubre Jr. (knee) and Trendon Watford (groin) remain out.
The Sixers rallied for a 139-134 overtime win in Washington on Oct. 28 in the first matchup between the teams this season. The Wizards led that game by 16 points entering the fourth quarter until Maxey (39 points, 10 assists) helped guide Philadelphia to the come-from-behind win.
