Embiid, Harden help 76ers cruise past Wizards

PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid scored 34 points, James Harden had 18 points and 14 assists and the Philadelphia 76ers cruised to a wireto-wire 112-93 win over the fading Washington Wizards on Sunday night.

Tobias Harris added 11 points and De’Anthony Melton 10 for the 76ers (45-22), who have won five in a row to keep pressure on Milwaukee and Boston for the top two seeds in a crowded Eastern Conference.

Philadelphia now plays seven of its next eight games on the road.

“When you are not playing the fourth quarter, that usually means something good,” said Embiid, who was 12 for 21 shooting in 31 minutes. “Everyone contributed for us.

Washington (31-37) got a career-high 25 points from Corey Kispert and 13 from Bradley Beal, but dropped its fifth game in its last six. The Wizards also fell out of a tie for the 10th and final spot in the Eastern Conference’s play-in tournament, a half-game behind idle Chicago.

“The biggest thing was that we didn’t have any pace in the half court,” Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. said. “Beyond just getting the ball up, but trying to play off the dribble too much instead of the power of the swing pass and letting the offense work for you.”

Philadelphia’s defense had struggled despite its winning ways in recent weeks. In six games during March, the Sixers had allowed 119.2 points a game and 41% from behind the 3-point line.

That wasn’t the case against Washington, which could not generate anything beyond the 3-point arc, where the Wizards shot 6 for 26. The Sixers had forward P.J. Tucker more as a rim protector matching up against Washington’s Kristaps Porzingis, sending Embiid away from the basket to provide length against Beal and Washington’s 3-point shooters.

“We did a really good job of being physical and switching,” Harden said. “We were able to guard shots, spread the floor and get dribble penetration. It’s just beautiful basketball.”

Embiid and Harden did the bulk of their damage in three quarters, sitting out large portions of the fourth as Philadelphia stretched its lead to 81-69.

Embiid added e i ght rebounds and four assists despite not playing any time in the final 12 minutes.

After that, the Sixers’ bench widened the lead to 25 thanks to Melton, Shake Milton and Paul Reed contributing on the offensive end before Unseld Jr. had his starters sent to the bench late.

“It was more the offense tonight than anything,” Unseld Jr. said.