Sixers meet their tanking match, snap 12-game losing streak vs. Wizards

The Sixers beat the Wizards in a game nobody wanted to win Wednesday, snapping a 12-game losing streak.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — That’s pretty much the definition of April regular season basketball right there.

Thanks to a career night from Jeff Dowtin Jr. the Sixers took down the Washington Wizards 122-103 Wednesday night to snap their 12-game losing streak.

Dowtin had a personal best 30 to lead all scorers, shooting 11-of-15 from the floor. Lonnie Walker IV went for 24 points going 7-of-17 from the floor.

Quentin Grimes struggled from the field but was still able to round out his night with 17 points despite shooting 4-of-17 from the field — he also had 11 rebounds and two steals. Adem Bona had 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting along with nine boards and two blocks.

Tristian Vukcevic led Washington with 23.

Justin Edwards (rib contusion), Guerschon Yabusele (personal reasons) and Kyle Lowry (hip injury management) were all out for the Sixers. Jalen Hood-Schifino was out as well for two-way reasons. Jordan Poole and Khris Middleton headlined eight players unable to suit up for Washington.

This was a pretty affordable win for the Sixers. They’re still in front of the Nets for the fifth best lottery odds, and the two remaining teams on their schedule still have a fair bit to play for.

Here are some grades from Capital One Arena.

Quentin Grimes

At the start it looked like Grimes was putting an emphasis on facilitating as he picked up three assists quickly, with one really nice pass down the lane to Bona. He could not buy anything to go down in the first half, missing all 10 of his field goal attempts.

Grimes did knock down his first three of the third though, and must have felt inspired by Bona’s poster. Both he and Marcus Bagley tried unsuccessfully to throw the hammer down in the following minutes. He never quite got going from the field, but his impact on defense and on the glass was felt the whole night.

Grade: C-

Adem Bona

Facing off against another center a few inches taller than him, Bona rose to the challenge against No. 2 overall pick Alex Sarr. This game was a good example of him doing all the high motor things well. He got in the face of some Wizards after Walker picked up a hard foul, he was trying to jump out of the gym to block every shot, and this time he was on the right side of a poster over Kyshawn George.

Bona has been putting work in on his jumper all year but there hasn’t really been a moment for him to try taking a three. He got one up with the game well in hand in this one. It didn’t go in, but he got it up pretty smoothly and it just rolled out.

Grade: A-

Lonnie Walker IV

In what’s becoming a common occurrence for Walker, he got off to another hot start off the dribble. Unlike the past couple of games, he had more success inside the arc rather than out.

He also might have gotten away with one — he gave quite a hard shove in the second that got called a flagrant one, but easily could have been a flagrant two to end his night early.

Grade: B-

Jeff Dowtin Jr.

Actually available for once, Dowtin didn’t seem to have much to rust to shake off. Despite smoking a wide open fast break, he started knocking down jumpers as soon as he checked into the game. He took turns playing off Walker to help build a double-digit lead in the second quarter. He singlehandedly did that again in the third, ripping off 11 points in less than 90 seconds of game time.

It’s impressive how many efficient nights he’s had in the past month despite being only able to play one out of every five games. Even for a guy who might be used to sporadic opportunities, it’s no easy thing to do.

Grade: A+

That’ll do it for road games for 2024-25. The Sixers will wrap up things up with a couple more games at home, starting with the Atlanta Hawks Friday night at 7 p.m. ET.