76ers stuff Wizards, but Simmons hurts knee

Joel Embiid scored nine consecutive points in a 13-0 Philadelphia burst that bridged the third and fourth quarters on Wednesday afternoon in the NBA “bubble” near Orlando, and the 76ers posted a 107-98 victory over the Washington Wizards despite losing Ben Simmons to a knee injury.Embiid finished with game-high totals of 30 points and 11 rebounds for the 76ers (41-27), who won their second straight after beginning their Florida stay with a loss to Indiana.The win might have been a costly one. Simmons left a tight contest with 5:46 remaining in the third quarter, favoring his left knee. He had grabbed an offensive rebound four seconds earlier.Initial reports from the locker room indicated there was no serious damage, but Simmons was not able to return to the game. He finished with eight points in 23 minutes.Washington lost its fourth straight at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex despite 19-point efforts from Thomas Bryant and Jerome Robinson.The 76ers led by as many as 10 in the first half, but in the wake of Simmons’ departure, the Wizards went up 74-69 on two free throws by Robinson with 1:38 remaining in the third period.Furkan Korkmaz countered with one of two free throws for the 76ers before Embiid took over, scoring the final seven points of the quarter, giving Philadelphia a 77-74 lead.Embiid added a dunk and Tobias Harris a jumper to begin the fourth period, completing the 13-point run and extending the margin to 82-74 with 11:00 remaining.The Wizards rallied within 92-88 with 4:19 to go on a Troy Brown Jr. jumper. However, Shake Milton bombed in a 3-pointer and added a short jumper in a personal five-point run that re-opened a nine-point advantage.Embiid connected on 11 of 20 field-goal attempts for the 76ers, who out-shot the Wizards 46.3 percent to 42.4 percent.Harris chipped in with 17 points while Josh Richardson added 15, Milton 14 and Korkmaz 10.Philadelphia’s Al Horford contributed 10 rebounds and a team-high five assists off the bench.Bryant completed a double-double with a team-high 10 rebounds for the Wizards. Brown totaled 17 points while Ish Smith had 12 to complement a team-high six assists.