Sometimes a team just presents a bad matchup for another.
For the Sixers, the Washington Wizards are that team.
The Sixers were pounded by the Wizards, 127-118, on Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center and it wasn’t as close as the final score. The Wizards hit their first eight shots, 12 of their first 13 and shot 84.2 percent in the first quarter on the way to the rout.
The Wizards beat the Sixers by 34 points at the Verizon Center on Oct. 6 and were leading by 28 points in the fourth quarter until the Sixers crept to within five points.
However, the Sixers played without Jahlil Okafor for the second straight game and big man Nerlens Noel was on a minutes limit, clocking just 19. Noel did not play during the fourth quarter.
Turning point
It got late early for the Sixers. The Wizards hit their first eight shot attempts and 12 of their first 13 on the way to shooting 16 for 19 in the opening quarter. The Sixers trailed by 19 at the end of the first quarter and by 24 at the end of the first half.
NBA
Points in bunches
Scottie Wilbekin, another point guard in the fight to make the roster, scored a team-high 21 points. He scored all but two of his points in the fourth quarter.
Out of action
Along with Okafor, Sixers head coach Brett Brown also gave the night off to Isaiah Canaan (rest), JaKarr Sampson (rest) and Christian Wood (hamstring). Tony Wroten, Kendall Marshall, Carl Landry and Nik Stauskas have yet to play in the preseason.
Alone in the middle
After playing together in the first two preseason games, Noel and Okafor were apart for the fourth straight game. Noel returned after missing the two previous games and Okafor missed his second straight on Friday night.
In splitting his time between power forward and center, Noel scored 15 points on 4 for 7 shooting with three rebounds and two steals.
Pierre at the point
Pierre Jackson made his preseason debut on Friday, clocking 12 minutes for two points and three assists. Jackson missed the entire 2014-15 season with a ruptured Achilles and has been limited in practice with a nagging groin injury.
Jackson shared the point guard duties with T.J. McConnell, who started the game and logged 26 minutes. McConnell, an undrafted rookie from Arizona, has impressed with gritty and high-paced play and Friday was no different. McConnell posted 10 points with 10 assists.
Brick Wall
Wizards point guard John Wall dished out 10 assists in 15 minutes of the first half and had 14 for the game in 21 minutes. Wall did not play during the fourth quarter.
Up next
The Sixers will hold a practice at the University of Delaware on Saturday for 2,000 fans and 176 Kids' Clinic attendees.
After practice, the team will head to Brooklyn where they take on the Nets on Sunday afternoon. The Sixers beat the Nets last Saturday, 97-95, on a last-second shot from McConnell in Albany, New York.