Yabu saves the day as Sixers narrowly beat tanking Wizards

Guerschon Yabusele came up with a huge block late as the Sixers’ barely hung on to beat the worst team in the NBA Wednesday.

Forty-eight minutes of basketball were played in South Philadelphia Wednesday night. Whether it qualified as NBA basketball remains to be seen.

Without Joel Embiid and Paul George, the Sixers just escaped with a 109-103 win over the Washington Wizards.

After a slow first half, Tyrese Maxey finished strong again to lead all scores with 29 points. He did shoot 11-of-27 from the field and 3-of-14 from three.

Guerschon Yabusele had one of his best games of the year, finishing with 21 points on 6-of-11 shooting. He also had eight rebounds and two blocks, including one that put the game away. Kelly Oubre Jr. and Eric Gordon each finished with 15 points.

Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.

First Quarter

• It wasn’t a very action-packed start as the Wizards opened the game shooting 3-of-10 from the floor with a couple of turnovers. Oubre was pretty active on defense early, with a pair of deflections and an impressive block on Jonas Valanciunas at the rim.
• Thrown into the starting lineup, Gordon also showed some early life with eight points in the quarter. He hit a pair of threes, one of which he got Bub Carrington to stumble off a pump fake. He had a couple of productive drives as well — one he finished for an and-1 and another he was able to kick out to a wide open Yabusele in the corner.

• After not being able to buy a basket for most of the quarter, Washington scored on five of their last six possessions, making it a seven-point Sixers’ lead. That marked the second game in a row where it felt like they should be up a lot more than they were.

Second Quarter

• On top of shooting threes better, it feels like Caleb Martin has been smoking layups considerably less since taking some time off to heal. He made his first four shots from the field tonight, all off the dribble.
• Whether it was intentional or not, Maxey seemed to be operating out of the midrange early, then started settling into a lot of threes. He didn’t have his jumper early though as he shot 3-of-13 in the half. He did move the ball around well, dishing out four assists. He is learning how to run a five-out offense now that he has a big who can actually stretch the floor.

• They continued to keep the Wizards at bay for the most part, but struggled to contain two-way guard Jared Butler. He led all scorers with 16 at halftime but Washington only scored four points over the final 3:43 of the half. The Sixers took an 11-point lead into the break.

Third Quarter

• Similar to the start of the game, it was Yabusele who got the Sixers going to start the second half. He hit a baby hook, then Maxey kicked it to him wide open in the corner. It looked like he rolled his ankle contesting a shot but walked it off just fine.
• Maxey was able to string some baskets together thanks to a handful of layups, including a fast break he earned off a steal. He finally got another three to fall, knocking down a stepback and prompting a Wizards’ timeout.

• It was a solid end of the quarter for Ricky Council IV. He quickly rebounded a miss and took it the length of the floor for a big transition dunk. The spot-up three he took from a normal spot in the corner didn’t go, but the one he stepped back to the coach’s line fell, because of course it did. The Sixers led by 14 after three.

Fourth Quarter

• The quarter opened with a unit led by the backup guards, and it went about as well as expected. Reggie Jackson knocked down a three and Jeff Dowtin Jr. got a runner to fall, but that was all the points they could muster. The Wizards didn’t make too much progress but did get the lead under double digits.
• Despite the starters’ return to the game, Washington continued to chip away and eventually re-take the lead. The combo of Butler and Corey Kispert continued to get to their spots fairly easily. A blown switch left Kispert wide open for the three that took the lead at the 4:22 mark. To make matters worse, the Sixers called a timeout during this stretch, but took a shot clock violation on the possession coming out of it. The Sixers were also victims of multiple terrible foul calls, but it was their fault the game was still close.
• Trading some (controversial) baskets had the game all tied up with a minute to play. Maxey spun his way to a pretty decent midrange look but couldn’t get it to go, but they forced a Butler miss on the other end coming out of a timeout. Wisely, the Sixers moved quickly off that miss and Maxey got a layup while the defense was still getting back. Yabusele stepped up for the second consecutive possession, blocking Bilal Coulilbaly at the rim and averting disaster.

• The Sixers wrap up their homestead Friday night against the New Orleans Pelicans at 7 p.m. ET. They may have to deal with Zion Williamson, who returned to action earlier this week from injury.