Balanced Sixers whip Wizards

Beating the bad teams is a concept that has not come easily for the 76ers.

Until recently, that is.

After losing early-season heartbreakers to the Washington Wizards, Detroit Pistons, and Cleveland Cavaliers, the Sixers opened their post-break schedule Wednesday night with a 117-94 thumping of those very same Wizards at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Sixers' lead reached 36 points. And in the second half, this game never seemed in question as the Sixers used substitutes for a good chunk of the fourth quarter and had fans exiting well before game's end.

The Sixers, who play the Pistons on Friday, improved to 28-29. The Wizards, who are a very bad road team, dropped to 15-41.

In the third quarter, the Wizards scored only 15 points and the Sixers scored 34. In that quarter, the Wizards' shooting percentage dropped from 45.2 percent to 38.1 percent overall. Washington finished the quarter 5 for 21 from the floor. The Sixers finished the period 11 for 19 and put an insurmountable distance between themselves and the Wizards.

All season, Sixers coach Doug Collins has maintained that his team is most effective when getting strong performances from many rather than an amazing performance from one. On Wednesday, Jrue Holiday scored 20 points, Elton Brand 15, Thaddeus Young 18, Evan Turner 15, Marreese Speights 14, Jodie Meeks 12, and Andre Iguodala filled the stat sheet with 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

After blistering the Sixers' defense in the first half, Wizards rookie John Wall scored only five second-half points and finished with 21.

It took the Sixers a quarter before they figured out how to start playing again.

In the first period, the Wizards scored 31 points, finishing the quarter shooting 57.1 percent from the field and 3 for 3 from beyond the arc. The Sixers, usually quite strong defensively, were being turned inside out by the ultra-quick Wizards and Wall.

Wall scored nine points in the first quarter, going 4 for 6 from the field, and his Wizards were ahead, 31-24.

But for the Wizards, all of the first quarter's scoring and up-and-back pace slowed in the second. With only two minutes remaining before halftime, the Wizards were stuck at 41 points, having scored only 10 points in the quarter.

Wall burst to the rim, making Washington's second-quarter total respectable, but the Sixers still led, 54-49, going to the break. The Sixers' halftime adjustments centered on stopping Wall, who scored 16 points in the first half on 6-for-11 shooting.

Neither Holiday nor Turner could stay in front of Wall. The Washington point guard added six first-half assists. The Wizards' backcourt of Wall and Nick Young combined for 28 first-half points on 11-for-20 shooting from the floor.

For the Sixers, three players finished the first half with double-digit scoring: Brand had 10 points, Holiday had 11, and Young 10.