WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Rookie point guard John Wall wowed the Washington crowd in his home debut by leading the Wizards to a thrilling 116-115 overtime victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday.
In a matchup that featured the top two picks in this year’s draft, Wall nearly recorded a triple-double with 29 points, 13 assists and nine steals to overshadow first-year Philadelphia guard Evan Turner, selected second overall.
Washington’s Cartier Martin took an inbounds pass from Wall and nailed a game-tying three-pointer with 0.3 seconds left in regulation to force the game into overtime.
The winless 76ers (0-4) had a 115-114 lead with 14 seconds left in overtime but Andray Blatche drained two free throws that were enough to give Washington (1-2) their first win of the season as Andre Iguodala missed a shot as time expired.
“It’s a great win for the team,” Wall told reporters after playing through an ankle injury he suffered in a previous game. “I thank the fans for supporting us and helping us come out with a tough win. Tonight we made the bigger plays.”
Philadelphia’s Lou Williams scored a game-high 30 points while Turner had nine points and six rebounds off the bench.
In a close contest throughout, Washington led by as much as 10 in the fourth but the 76ers scored 40 in the final quarter and stormed back to claim a slim advantage.
Elton Brand had 21 points and nine rebounds for Philadelphia while Blatche finished with 23 for the home side. ‘Our guys fought so hard,” Philadelphia first-year coach Doug Collins said. “(Martin) threw in an unbelievable shot.”
Washington played a third straight game without guard Gilbert Arenas, who has yet to make his season debut because of an ankle injury.
