The Philadelphia 76ers will look to follow a tight victory over the Eastern Conference-worst Washington Wizards with another against the Western Conference-worst New Orleans Pelicans at home Friday.
The Sixers squandered a 15-point, fourth-quarter lead against the Wizards on Wednesday before recovering for a 109-103 victory against the NBA’s worst team.
Philadelphia was missing key pieces such as Joel Embiid (foot), Paul George (groin) and Kyle Lowry (hip), but Washington was also short-handed, without leading scorer Jordan Poole, and was playing the second half of a back-to-back.
“It was some weird stuff that happened,” said Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey, who had a team-best 29 points while shooting 11 of 27 from the floor. “But I mean, we found a way to win the game.”
Maxey delivered the go-ahead layup with 23.7 seconds left as the Sixers improved to 1-1 on their three-game homestand.
“(Maxey) was great, as always,” Philadelphia’s Guerschon Yabusele said after he supplied 21 points and eight rebounds, not to mention a key block in the final seconds.
Now the Sixers will turn their attention to the Pelicans, who have endured a disappointing season to this point. Zion Williamson missed 27 games for New Orleans with a hamstring strain before returning earlier this week.
Williamson scored 22 points over 28 minutes in his return Tuesday during a 104-97 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. He rested in the second game of the back-to-back Wednesday against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Without Williamson, Trey Murphy III (ankle) and Brandon Ingram (ankle), New Orleans was trounced by Portland 119-100. The Pelicans trailed 40-24 after one quarter and went into halftime facing a 75-42 deficit in one of the team’s most dispiriting losses of the season.
“We were surprised at the lack of urgency,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said. “It was not a competitive game by our standards at all.”
CJ McCollum supplied 23 points and Dejounte Murray added 20, but New Orleans still fell to 5-31 since opening the season with two straight victories.
“They came out and punched us in the mouth right away and we just couldn’t recover,” Green said.
Adding to their issues, Pelicans defensive stalwart Herb Jones left after three shot attempts in 18 minutes with a shoulder injury. His status for Friday is unclear.
“We’re all hoping and praying that Herb is OK. He’s a big part of our team,” Green said.
Friday is the opener of a three-game road trip for the Pelicans, who will visit the reigning champion Boston Celtics on Sunday before a matchup with the improving Chicago Bulls on Tuesday.
“It seems like we play a game every other day this month,” New Orleans guard Jordan Hawkins said. “So we’ve got to go to the next game, worry about Philly.”
The Sixers are coming up on a tough stretch of games. Starting Tuesday, they will take on the Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks, Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks, Denver Nuggets and NBA-best Cleveland Cavaliers over the next two weeks.
This is the first matchup of the season between the Sixers and Pelicans. The teams will reunite in New Orleans on March 24.
