Sixers Lose to Wizards in Double Overtime After Solid Start

The Philadelphia 76ers lost to the Washington Wizards on their unofficial quest to go undefeated in the preseason. Unlike their game against the Celtics, the Sixers started the game strong and led for almost all of the first three quarters.

This is a game that is virtually meaningless and yet it would never end. But it did end. It did. Two overtimes and two long game stops later, it did. From a 7pm broadcast start, to a 10:30pm finish, the game did end. Preseason: It gets real.

The Sixers had injury news earlier in the day as they found out Jerryd Bayless would probably miss time in the regular season with a wrist injury and Nerlens Noel apparently suffering from a strained groin. During the game, Brandon Paul also went down with an injury early in the 4th quarter. Paul was the leading scorer for the Sixers against the Celtics. He struggled tonight as he had 3 points on 25 percent shooting. At the tipoff of the second overtime, Richaun Holmes landed on an official and play had to stop as he tried to walk it off. The hope is the Sixers are not decimated by injuries because it's been a rough start.

Dario Saric led the Sixers' quick start as the team jumped to a 11-0 lead, with Saric scoring the first four points. At the end of the first half, he had 11 points on 80 percent shooting from the field. Holmes came in and carried the load for the majority of the second half and finished with an impressive double-double, scoring 20 points to go along with 12 boards. Sergio Rodriguez had six assists in the first quarter as he and Holmes displayed some nice chemistry. Rodriguez played six minutes in the first quarter. The Sixers as a team shot 54 percent from the field in the first half.

Embiid struggled with his shot and actually was forcing some looks in the first, but he eventually settled down and managed an okay game, scoring five points while also pulling down three rebounds and blocking a shot.

The Sixers started the 3rd quarter slowly, with two missed shots and three turnovers, but held onto the lead. Jerami Grant was 5-5 from the field before finally missing as he had a solid shooting night. The third quarter was spent watching the Wizards trail by one point, only to have the Sixers respond or Wizards to slip. They finally grabbed their first lead of the game with just under four minutes to go in the 3rd. At the end of the quarter, the Sixers did end up with the lead, 74-72.

In the 4th, the Wizards finally broke through by basically playing defense for the first time. They had the lead for most of the 4th quarter, but it came down to a tie. The Sixers were down by one, and were on defense. The thought was to foul the Wizards to stop the clock. Instead, the Wizards turned the ball over and the Sixers managed to take the lead after a couple of made free throws.

With the Sixers up one, the Wizards were set to inbound the ball. However, due to a new NBA rule, when the Sixers fouled before the ball was inbounded, the Wizards were awarded a free throw and the ball. So then, the game was tied and the Wizards had a chance to win. Holmes blocked a potential game winner and the game went to OT.

With under 10 seconds in overtime, the Sixers were down by three. They turned to Hollis Thompson for the big three to tie it up at 110. The Wizards had a chance to win the game again but failed, sending this one to double overtime, where Philadelphia couldn't keep pace, falling by a final score of 125-119.

Holmes led the Sixers with a double-double as he scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Saric's night ended in the 3rd quarter, but he finished with 14 points on 71 percent shooting. TJ McConnell had 12 points and seven assists. The Sixers actually ended up with five players in double figures as Thompson had 15 points and Grant had 17.

Washington was led by Kelly Oubre, who led all scorers with 24 points. Sheldon McClellan added 20 points.

This was a fun game until probably the first OT. It was a long game; not just because of the double OT, but for two big game delays. The first one game at the start of the second quarter as there was an issue with one of the nets for the basket. Then, there was another weird stop from a clock issue towards the end of the second quarter. All of this combined led to this game ending at about 10:30pm for a broadcast start of 7pm. That being said, plenty of positives once again for the Sixers.

The next preseason game for Philadelphia is Saturday against the Cleveland Cavaliers.