The first time that the Washington Wizards faced the Philadelphia 76ers, it was John Wall's home debut that turned into a thrilling 116-115 overtime win. Tuesday night, the Wizards rallied from behind on the one-year anniversary of Abe Pollin's death to once again defeat the Sixers in overtime, 116-114.
JaVale McGee led the Wizards with 24 points and 18 rebounds and Nick Young hit the game-winning three pointer with 7.6 seconds left to lift Washington to their fifth home win and fifth win overall.
Before the game, there was a moment of silence for late owner Abe Pollin, who died last November 24 at the age of 85. It was Philadelphia, however, that came out energized in the first quarter, leading 30-20 after 12 minutes. The Sixers extended their lead to 52-38 at halftime and all seemed lost for the Wizards. But Washington would not let a somber night get any worse. After going down 61-44 in the third quarter, the Wizards responded with a 29-16 run to get the lead to four entering the fourth.
In a back-and-forth fourth quarter, Jrue Holiday fouled Wall on a three-point shot to send him to the line, where he hit all three free throws to tie the game. Wall finished with 25 points off of the bench in his return from injury.
In overtime, Young hit the game-winning shot to finish with 19 points. Gilbert Arenas and Andray Blatche each scored 17 points and Kirk Hinrich added seven.
Andre Iguodala finished with 23 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists for Philadelphia.