Washington Wizards at Philadelphia 76ers 1/13/12 Recap

The Philadelphia 76ers, coming off a tough loss to the Knicks on Wednesday night, came home and blew out the Washington Wizards tonight 120-89.

This was the start of both the 76ers (8-3) and Wizards (1-10) first home-and-home of the year and tonight was the Sixers night. They led by as many as 34 points and were fueled by a 38-point third quarter, their best quarter all year.

“We couldn’t have been better,” said Sixers Head Coach Doug Collins. “It was a great win for us.”

Shooting Guard Jodie Meeks led the Sixers with 26 points on 10-of-11 shooting, 6-of-7 from beyond the arc, a career night for the third year player out of Kentucky.

“[Jodie’s] such a great shooter,” said Elton Brand. “It was a joy to see him hit those threes and rain them from all over the court.”

Seven players scored in double figures for Philadelphia, including Guard Lou Williams, who scored 19 points after being held to just two at New York, and Center Spencer Hawes, who returned tonight after missing Wednesday’s game at New York with a strained lower back. It was more of the same for Hawes, who picked up where he left off last week, recording his fifth double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

After the Wizards got to within 16 in the middle of the fourth quarter, the Sixers idn’t let up, going on a 15-0 run to increase the lead back to 31. Thus far this year, the team’s average margin of victory is 22.8 points, the best in the league.

“We’re familiar with each other,” said Andre Iguodala. “We understand each other and that goes a long way.”

Rashard Lewis led Washington with 16 points. Second year player John Wall had just seven points and five assists. The Wizards to avenge tonight’s loss in less than 24 hours in Washington D.C. when the two teams meet again tomorrow night.

“We might as well burn [tonight’s] stat sheet,” Brand remarked. “These guys have a lot of pride… we know they’re going to come out fighting tomorrow.”