Back on track: Sixers return home with topping of Washington

Jrue Holiday and Lou Williams both finished with 26 points as the Philadelphia 76ers topped the Washington Wizards, 109-97, at the Wells Fargo Center. 

Elton Brand added 17 points and Andres Nocioni notched a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds for Philadelphia, which returned home after an eight- game road trip. 

Thaddeus Young contributed 11 points in a reserve role for the Sixers, who topped Washington for the first time since winning four straight during the 2008-09 season. 

"Needless to say, it is nice to beat Washington," Sixers coach Doug Collins said. "Our guys would not lose that game, and I was very proud of them for that." 

Nick Young led the Wizards with 21 points. Rookie John Wall finished with 18 points and 14 assists and Rashard Lewis added a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds for Washington, which has yet to win a game on the road this season (0-17).


"We've got to make clutch plays in clutch situations as far as on the road," Wizards coach Flip Saunders said. "Our margin of error is not that much." 

The game stayed close until the closing minutes of the fourth quarter, when Philadelphia took a 94-87 lead on a Brand jump shot and two Thaddeus Young free throws with 4:18 remaining. 

After two Nick Young pullup jumpers sandwiched a Holiday driving layup to trim the lead to five, Williams widened the margin to eight with a long three with 2:38 remaining in the contest. 

Williams then added a driving layup to extend the margin to 101-91 with just over two minutes left. 

Wall responded with two from the line before a Thaddeus Young jumper and four free throws by Williams and Nocioni widened the Sixers lead to a game-high 14 and sewed up the victory with 58.5 ticks to go. 

Brand led the way with 10 points as the Sixers held a 29-26 advantage after the opening 12 minutes. Washington responded in the second to take a 52-50 lead at the half. 

After a back-and-forth third quarter, Philadelphia was able to regain a 76-75 advantage heading into the final stanza. 

Game Notes 

Washington won the two previous meetings this season by a combined three points...Both of the Wizards' previous victories came in overtime...Andray Blatche and Kirk Hinrich scored 17 and 13 points, respectively, for the Wizards...Philadelphia held a 40-35 rebounding margin and 46-44 lead in points in the paint...The game featured 14 lead changes. 

Copyright: The Sports Network