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After a tough loss in Game 1, the Washington Wizards will be looking to bounce back in Game 2 of their series against the Philadelphia 76ers, while the Sixers will be aiming to jump out to a 2-0 lead. The Wizards competed hard and gave the Sixers all that they could handle in the first game, but ultimately the Sixers showed why they were one of the best teams in the league all season as they were able to close out the game down the stretch for a 125-118 victory. 

Tobias Harris led the way for the Sixers with a playoff career-high 37 points. Joel Embiid was hampered by foul trouble in the first half, but he still finished the game with 30 points and six rebounds, while Ben Simmons added six points, 15 assists and 15 rebounds of his own. In the process, Harris and Embiid became the first pair of Sixers teammates to each score 30-plus points in the same playoff game since 1990. On the other side of the floor, Bradley Beal did his thing for the Wizards, as he tallied 33 points, 10 rebounds and six assists while shooting 13-of-23 from the floor, but his production obviously wasn't enough. 

With the win in Game 1, the Sixers were able to protect their home-court advantage and take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series, though there's still a whole lot of series left to be played. With that said, here's everything you need to know for Game 2 between the Sixers and Wizards. 

(1) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (8) Washington Wizards

  • Date: Wednesday, May 26 | Time: 7 p.m. ET
  • Location: Wells Fargo Center -- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 
  • TV: NBATV | Live stream: FuboTV
  • Odds: WAS +295; PHI -355 | O/U: 229.5 (via William Hill Sportsbook)  

Storylines

76ers: The Sixers should feel pretty good about their Game 1 win considering that they hadn't played for a week prior to the game, while the Wizards were fresh off of the play-in tournament. It took the Sixers about a half to shake the rust off, but once they did they were able to seize control of the contest and pull out a win. The fact that Harris was able to really get going, and that Seth Curry and Danny Green were knocking down shots, were great signs for the Sixers. They're now 4-0 against the Wizards this season, and as such, I wouldn't expect Doc Rivers to make many changes ahead of Game 2. 

Wizards: Moving forward, the Wizards need to improve in a couple of areas if they want to contend in this series. The first thing they must do is figure out a way to guard Joel Embiid more effectively (I know, easier said than done). The only thing that slowed Embiid in Game 1 was foul trouble. Embiid was limited to just 10 minutes of action in the first half thanks to three early fouls, but he still finished the game with 30 points in 30 minutes on 9-of-16 shooting from the floor. The Wizards don't have any individual player capable of slowing Embiid, so it will have to be a team effort. Washington sent double teams at Embiid in Game 1, but when those doubles occurred there were gaps in coverage that Embiid was able to exploit, as he did on this assist to George Hill in the third quarter: 

Washington's full defense was clearly not on the same page on that play, as someone should have rotated over to protect the paint after the double occurred. The Wizards will need to do a better job of rotating and communicating or the doubles on Embiid won't be effective at all. 

The other thing that the Wizards need to do is find some ancillary point production outside of Beal. Beal dropped 33 points and shot 56 percent from the floor in Game 1, but the next highest scoring Wizards player, Russell Westbrook, had just 16 points. That's not going to get the job done against a team as potent as Philadelphia. Ultimately though, the Wizards just might not have enough firepower outside of Beal to advance. 

Prediction

The Wizards benefitted from Embiid's foul trouble in Game 1, but he's not likely to pick up three first half fouls again in the second game, which is bad news for Washington. When Embiid was on the floor, the Sixers were dominant (Embiid was a +20 in 20 minutes in Game 1), and I would expect the Sixers to go to him early and often on Wednesday night. Pick: 76ers -8