The 76ers’ recent slide continued after falling to the Washington Wizards 107-99 Monday afternoon. It marked their seventh defeat in their last nine games, and their third in less than 72 hours.
Playing as part of the NBA’s slew of Martin Luther King Jr. matinee games, the two (then) below-.500 teams met in the nation’s capital. The actually win pushed the Wizards back to the .500 mark.
The Sixers found themselves in an early hole after the Wizards jumped out to an early first half lead. On the strength of Bradley Beal’s 13 points second quarter points, Washington took a ten point lead into the locker room.
Michael Carter-Williams shined in the loss for the Sixers, scoring 31 points on the evening. At one point, he scored 25 of their first 60 points and continues to be the primary bright spot for the 76ers and perhaps many fans’ primary reason for watching. Spencer Hawes tied a season high with 14 rebounds.
Outside of MCW, the team played a rather forgettable game. Once again, they struggled from three and shot 22% from beyond the arc. The poor shooting game actually was an improvement from their recent shooting rate, but overall they have made only eight treys from their last 57 shots. Furthermore, they shot a rather pathetic 61% from the charity stripe.
For whatever reason, they have struggled shooting free throws against Washington in particular, as it followed up on their 50% rate in the Nov. 1 contest between the two teams.
Washington received a total of 22 points from Beal, one of their five double-figure scorers. He actually came one rebound and two assists away from what would have been his first career double-double.
If fans are looking for some type of bright spot, the team covered the spread in one of the most amusing ways possible. A ten point dog and trailing by 12 with 11 seconds left, Hollis Thompson hit a three to hit the backdoor cover.
The Sixers get a much-needed day of Tuesday and then will get back to action on Wednesday when they head to Madison Square Garden to face the Knicks.
