By Josh Liddick, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The Philadelphia 76ers (26-25) got out to a lead early in the game and never let up, defeating the Wizards (31-23) by a score of 115-102 to kick off the five-game homestand with a bang.
If there was a proper way to celebrate the Eagles winning the Super Bowl, it was this performance tonight, where the Sixers really held their own, getting out to a commanding run right out of the gate. Of course, the Wizards found a way back into the game after a while, but they were never truly able to overcome the deficit.
After all, would it even be a proper Sixers game without some kind of blown lead?
I guess in the end, the lead was never truly blown, as a fourth quarter collapse never occurred, signaling some positivity entering the next game.
At one point, with 2:43 to play in the first quarter, the Sixers were in the midst of an impressive 30-9 run. The Wizards chipped away, able to get their point total into the 20s, but the Sixers entered the second quarter with a solid 17-point lead, up 37-20. By the end of the half, the Wizards found a way to cut the deficit to just 10, trailing the Sixers 65-55.
The Sixers and Wizards both scored 29 in the third quarter, keeping it close, still a 10-point difference, but the Sixers got the better of the fourth quarter, scoring 21 to Washington's 29.
The Sixers had a big night from Joel Embiid, coming off of his comments in Minnesota Sunday after the Eagles won the Super Bowl. The superstar center had a team-high 27 points, with 12 rebounds, three assists, and three blocks. Embiid finished a +16 on the floor. He was also pretty active with his outside shooting, completing three of his seven 3-point attempts on the night.
.@sixers C @JoelEmbiid has his team-leading 30th 20-point game. The is the 21st player in the league with at least 30 such games.
— Sixers Stats (@SixersStats) February 7, 2018
All five of the Sixers' starters finished in double figures. Dario Saric had 20 points, JJ Redick scored 18, Ben Simmons tallied 15, and Robert Covington 12, along with Embiid's 27.
Saric has looked really impressive as of late, and he added to his list of impressive performances on Tuesday night, grabbing seven rebounds, an assist, and a steal to go along with his 20 points. Saric shot an efficient 8-of-14 from the field, 2-of-4 from beyond the arc, and completed both of his free throw attempts.
JJ Redick had six assists in addition to his 18 points, 12 of which were from 3-point land (4-5).
Simmons looked fresh and renewed as he continued his brilliant play once again, tallying eight assists with six rebounds and three steals. Simmons wowed the crowd with some crazy dunks over Wizard defenders.
Ben Simmons explodes to the rack!#HereTheyCome
📺: @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/C8iRo40GwH
— NBA (@NBA) February 7, 2018
In their stellar 65-point first half, the Sixers set a new season-high with a 62.8 field goal percentage in the half.
.@sixers set season-high with 62.8 FG percentage in the first half. The previous best was 60 percent against GS on Nov. 18.
Philadelphia leads Washington 65-55 at halftime.
— Sixers Stats (@SixersStats) February 7, 2018
The Wizards, who were in the middle of a win streak of five games even without guard John Wall, really seemed to miss their star point guard, especially without a true set point guard getting starter minutes.
Tomas Satoransky got the start at the one for the Wizards and only ended up playing 22 minutes, shooting 2-of-6 from the field for only six points. He also had three assists and two steals. Point guard Tim Frazier also spent time getting minutes off the bench, playing in 15, but only scored the Wiz two points with four boards, three assists, and a steal.
When you don't have the services of a player like John Wall, it forces you to sometimes overuse your other star players, in this case, was Bradley Beal who ended up playing 41 minutes, by far the greatest total of the night for the visitors. Beal did score a game-high 30 points on 12-of-22 shooting and he was 5-of-12 from downtown. Beal also grabbed seven rebounds, five assists, and a steal. He also turned the ball over four times, the highest amount for the team. It was obvious who the Wizards wanted to have majority control of the ball without Wall on the floor.
Otto Porter Jr. was two rebounds shy of a double-double, finishing with 17 points and eight rebounds. He was 8-of-16 from the field, with two assists, and a steal.
Ian Mahinmi scored 13 points, Kelly Oubre Jr. had 10 for the Wiz off the bench.
The Wizards shot 44.1% (41-93) from the field, 25.9% (7-27) from 3-point land, and 72.2% (13-18) from the line. They only turned the ball over 11 times.
The Sixers shot way better from the field, something you definitely won't hear every day. 55.6% (45-81) from the field, 50% (14-28) from downtown, and 78.6% (11-14) from the charity stripe. The Sixers turned the ball over 17 times.
The Sixers won consecutive games over the Wizards for the first time since April 12-November 1, 2013.
Next up for the Sixers is a matchup with the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center. It will be the Sixers' first glance of former Chicago Bull Nikola Mirotic on his new team.
