Washington Wizards rally to beat Philadelphia 76ers in overtime
The Washington Wizards made huge plays down the stretch as they escaped with a thrilling 116-114 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday 23 November at the Verizon Center in Washington.
John Wall, who played after missing four-straight games with a sprained left foot, had an explosive comeback as he racked up 25 points and six rebounds, and had a big play down the stretch that forced an
extra period.
With the Wizards trailing by three points, Wall was about take a shot 40 feet from the basket and he had the presence of mind to throw the ball immediately, expecting that Jrue Holiday would foul him. The
2010 first overall pick was given three free throws and he converted all of them, helping the Wizards force an extra period.
“I could tell how he was walking up to me that he was going to foul me,” said Wall, who shot 7-for-15 from the field. “Luckily I got the call and got to shoot three free throws.”
Philadelphia head coach Doug Collins was frustrated with Holiday for the crucial mistake that led to their 11th loss in their first 14 games this season. “You've got to be careful because when a guy is running
at you with the ball like that, you've got to know when he sees you coming that he's going to pick up and launch it.”
Holiday, on the other hand, admitted his mistake and said that he thought Wall would go coast-to-coast for a much better look at the basket, but the rookie sensation made an unexpected play to force an extra
five minutes.
“I didn't think he was shooting the three,” said Holiday, who finished with 10 points and seven assists. “I honestly thought he was going to the basket. I really was not trying to foul him. I just got my
arm in there and he went up. It was a foul.”
JaVale McGee also had a share of the spotlight as he scored 24 points and grabbed a game-high 18 rebounds, while Nick Young added 19 points on 4-for-8 shooting from the three-point line, highlighted by a
huge long-range bomb that gave them a 116-114 lead with 7.6 seconds left in overtime.
Andre Iguodala, on the other hand, led Philadelphia with his 23 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists; Elton Brand added 19 points and seven rebounds, while Marreese Speights racked up 16 points and nine
rebounds, but they couldn’t hold on to their 15-point lead in the fourth period.
“All we had to do was just finish out the game, and we just made critical mistakes again,” Collins said. “That's just crushing us. That's been the story of our whole first 14 games of the season.”
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