Jrue Holiday leads Philadelphia 76ers to a 101-94 win over Washington Wizards - NBA Preseason Recap
Philadelphia 76ers had battered the Washington Wizards on the road by 25 points last week in their preseason opener. On Tuesday night, both teams met again and once again, the Sixers proved a little too hot to handle for the Wizards.
Coming into the night, the Wizards also had the services of their highest scorer from last season, Nick Young, who signed a one year contract with the team couple of days ago. However even his inclusion did not cater for much.
The game was evenly poised at 87 all with two minutes remaining; however a fierce 14-7 spurt, led by star of the night Jrue Holiday (who scored 10 out of the total 14 points in the run, including 2 threes) sealed the game for the 76ers.
The Sixers were simply unstoppable from the long range on the night. They shot 7 for 16 from the three-point range in contrast to meager 2 for 18 from Wizards.
Jrue was phenomenal and scored the game high 24 points on 3 for 5 from the downtown and 7 for 8 from the free throw line. Andre Iguodala, Evan Turner and Thaddeus Young finished with 13 each and had a tally of 20 rebounds between them, while Jodie Meeks had 11 points.
JaVale McGee paced the Wizards with 20 points and 9 rebounds. Jordan Crawford pounded 18 while John Wall and Andray Blatche chipped in with 17 and 13 respectively.
McGee opened the scoring for Wizards with a two pointer, however it was answered by a mid range jumper from Spencer Hawes. About 4 minutes into the quarter, the Wizards were ahead by 13-11, but what followed next was an 11-0 spurt from 76ers, capped by Elton Brand’s free throw, which put the team in the driving seat and helped them in finishing the first frame at 25-20.
Wizards mounted a fight back in the second frame and were leading by 39-38 late before reeling off an 11-2 run to make it 50-40. The 76ers however responded swiftly and scored quickly in the last minute to end the first half at 47-52.
The frame after the break saw an intense battle and ended with both teams neck to neck at 70 all.
The trend continued in the ultimate quarter. The first 8 minutes of the deciding quarter were almost the replica of the third frame as there was nothing to differentiate between both teams. It was then, when Holiday intervened and initiated an onslaught to lead his team to a victory.
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