Sixers get up on Wizards and roll
PHILADELPHIA >> Just watching Sixers coach Brett Brown act concerned after calling a timeout with a 27-point lead and 2:45 left in what would become a runaway 123-98 victory over the Washington Wizards was hysterical.
What do you tell your guys at that point? Take the rest of the night off?
For the second straight game, the Sixers’ big three of Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Jimmy Butler already had taken the fourth quarter off. Actually, Embiid played three minutes of the final frame. But you get the point. It’s the first time the Sixers won back-to-back games by 25 or more points since 2008.
Embiid led the Sixers Friday night with 16 points and 15 rebounds in 22 minutes. It sure beats the days of minutes restrictions.
“Uh, yes,” Embiid said with a smile. “It gives me a lot of rest and you know, I don’t have to take a game off.”
There was a lot for Brown to like about a victory that makes the Sixers 16-8. Or if you prefer, 7-2 since Butler got in the lineup. Like everything in the box score.
“That was a good team effort,” Brown said. “We were able to rest guys. Eight guys in double figures. The defense was pretty good throughout the night. We did a pretty good job on the boards. Twenty-nine assists, that’s a good thing.”
What made the victory great, at least in the eyes of Brown was the ButlerSimmons chemistry. They scored 11 and 13 points, respectively, unless you’re counting the white head bands. On the Sixers fashion meter, that was a 9.8.
“They are defensive brothers, OK?” Brown said of the headgear. “They’re blood brothers. That band to me signifies a bonding, a defensive bonding. And I’ve asked Jimmy to put Ben under his wing and really help Ben be all he can be defensively. Ben was our bell ringer tonight. And he was that because I thought his defense … I thought he was excellent.
“So that’s what it is, a bonding of defensive brothers.”
Simmons and Butler made Wizards all-stars Bradley Beal and John Wall look ordinary, the guys combining for 30 points on 28 shots.
The postgame got interesting when Butler was told it was his idea to wear the bands. At least according to Simmons.
“Who said that?” Butler said. “Head bands are in right now.”
Simmons then stopped to listen while Butler was answering questions. That changed the tenor of Butler’s answers, albeit in a positive way. It looked like a big brother, little brother deal. Simmons did his part.
“He said if I wear it, he’ll wear it,” Simmons said of the headbands, adding that he may not stick with the look.
“Maybe, but I might switch it up,” Simmons said. “I always wanted to wear a headband in the game. I think we’re getting a lot better with chemistry and defense. I think we’ve picked it up.”
The Sixers were so comfortably ahead at the intermission that they accidentally emailed the first half box score of the Memphis Grizzlies and the New Jersey Nets. And for the longest time, no one noticed. Truth be told, that game was much more entertaining. Those teams were tied at 26.
The Sixers took control in the first quarter when Embiid scored seven points, including a three-pointer. The Sixers scored 31 points and grabbed 24 rebounds to build an 11-point lead entering the second quarter.
The Wizards got within 11 points on Beal jam, but the 12-0 run largely against subs took a lot out of them.
It was garbage time in the second quarter. Brown will take that kind of performance any day.
And if it’s the headbands that are helping, don’t be surprised if he shows up for the post-game sporting one.