Washington Wizards embarrassed by Philadelphia 76ers on the road

The Washington Wizards collapsed in the first game of a home-and-home series against the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night.

Yet again, the Washington Wizards couldn’t string together consecutive road wins on Wednesday night in a blowout loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, falling 132-115 at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Wizards started off strong with a 10-point lead in first quarter before the Sixers stormed back to tie it up. Even after the first 12 minutes, the Wizards only trailed by 3 points and Bradley Beal had already put up 11 points.

The second quarter is where it fell apart, as the Sixers outscored the Wizards 36-16. At halftime, Philadelphia enjoyed a 68-45 lead, a cushion that Washington was never able to chip away at in the second half.

Beal continued his impressive scoring output with 28 points on 11-of-18 shooting. Jeff Green was the only other starter to reach double figures with 15 points. Otto Porter came off the bench with 11 points.

With the Wizards never in striking distance, the fourth quarter was essentially all garbage time as Scott Brooks gave his reserves plenty of run. Sam Dekker finished with 14 points, Ian Mahinmi had 10 points to go with 7 rebounds and 5 assists, and Chasson Randle put up 10 points of his own.

The Sixers have no shortage of firepower with their “Big Three” of Jimmy Butler, Joel Embiid, and Ben Simmons, but it was none of them who led the way for their squad. It was rookie backup guard Landry Shamet who, in 24 minutes, had a game-high 29 points on 8 three-pointers.

That isn’t to say Philly’s star-studded trio didn’t have strong performance eithers. Butler and Embiid each had 20 points, with the latter adding 10 rebounds. Simmons finished with a well-rounded 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 9 assists.

On the bright side, the Wizards will have a chance at immediate vengeance as both teams head south on I-95 for a rematch at Capital One Arena on Wednesday.