Maxey scores 29 points to lead 76ers past Washington 109-103

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Tyrese Maxey scored the go-ahead basket with 23.7 seconds left and finished with 29 points to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 109-103 win over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night.

Guerschon Yabusele scored 21 points and blocked a potential tying layup with 14 seconds left to preserve the win for the Sixers.

Joel Embiid, Paul George, Kyle Lowry and Andre Drummond all sat out for Philadelphia while Washington played without leading scorer Jordan Poole and Malcolm Brogdon.

With so many key starters out and both teams well under .500, there was a preseason vibe at the Wells Fargo Center until the Wizards made a serious run in the fourth.

Bilal Coulibaly helped Washington rally from a 16-point hole and stretched the lead to 101-98 on a jumper. Eric Gordon hit the tying 3 for the Sixers.

Maxey hit 11 of 27 shots and had six assists for the Sixers. Gordon and Kelly Oubre Jr. each scored 15 points.

Jared Butler scored 26 points for the Wizards and Corey Kispert had 23.

Wizards: The Wizards have lost four straight games and six of seven. They have the worst record in the NBA at 6-29.

76ers: Tickets on the secondary market were going for less than $10 each in the lower 100 level right before tipoff. The fans who did attend the game — including “Party of Five” actor Scott Wolf — saw Maxey go off late. Maxey, an All-Star last season, struggled at times as the go-to scorer this season with Embiid and George out so often.

Kuzma appeared to get away with a travel on a bucket that gave Washington a 103-101 lead. Maxey, though, came through with two free throws that tied the score. His next basket was the winner.

Washington made only 6 of 9 free throws.

Wizards play at Chicago on Friday, while 76ers host New Orleans.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Philadelphia 76ers' Eric Gordon (23) goes up for a shot against Washington Wizards' Jonas Valanciunas (17) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia 76ers' Eric Gordon (23) goes up for a shot against Washington Wizards' Jonas Valanciunas (17) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia 76ers' Ricky Council IV, right, goes up for a shot against Washington Wizards' Kyshawn George during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia 76ers' Kelly Oubre Jr., center, goes up for a shot between Washington Wizards' Kyle Kuzma, right, and Jonas Valanciunas during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia 76ers' Ricky Council IV tries to dunk during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia 76ers' Tyrese Maxey goes up for a shot during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Washington Wizards' Jonas Valanciunas, right, goes up for a shot against Philadelphia 76ers' Guerschon Yabusele during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Washington Wizards' Jonas Valanciunas, left, tries to dunk against Philadelphia 76ers' Kelly Oubre Jr. during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Washington Wizards' Kyle Kuzma, left, goes up for a shot against Philadelphia 76ers' Guerschon Yabusele during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Washington Wizards' Carlton Carrington, left, tries to get past Philadelphia 76ers' Eric Gordon during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — More than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war, Gaza's Health Ministry said Thursday, with no end in sight to the 15-month conflict.

The ministry said a total of 46,006 Palestinians have been killed and 109,378 wounded. It has said women and children make up more than half the fatalities, but does not say how many of the dead were fighters or civilians.

The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. It says it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames Hamas for their deaths because the militants operate in residential areas. Israel has also repeatedly struck what it claims are militants hiding in shelters and hospitals, often killing women and children.

In recent weeks, Israel and Hamas have appeared to inch closer to an agreement for a ceasefire and the release of hostages. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week that a deal is “very close” and he hopes to complete it before handing over U.S diplomacy to the incoming Trump administration.

But he and other U.S. officials have expressed similar optimism on several occasions over the past year, only to see the indirect talks stall.

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza. Israeli authorities believe at least a third of them were killed in the initial attack or have died in captivity.

The war has flattened large areas of Gaza and displaced around 90% of its 2.3 million people, with many forced to flee multiple times. Hundreds of thousands are packed into sprawling tent camps along the coast with limited access to food and other essentials.

“What we are living is not a life. Nobody could bear the situation we’re experiencing for a single day,” Munawar al-Bik, a displaced woman, told The Associated Press in an interview this week.

“We wake up at night to the sounds of men crying, because of the bad situation,” she said. “The situation is unbearable. We have no energy left: we want it to end today.”

Al-Bik spoke on a dusty road in the southern city of Khan Younis next to a destroyed building. Behind her, a sea of makeshift tents filled with displaced families stretched into the distance.

On Thursday, dozens of people took part in funeral prayers outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah for people killed in Israeli strikes the day before.

In the hospital morgue, a man could be seen kneeling and bidding farewell to a relative before slamming a refrigerator door in an outburst of grief.

Palestinian health officials said Israeli airstrikes killed at least nine people in Gaza on Wednesday, including three infants — among them a 1-week-old baby — and two women.

Khaled reported from Cairo.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Mourners attend the funeral of Israeli soldier 1st Matityahu Ya'akov Perel, who was killed in a battle in the Gaza Strip, at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem, Israel, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Israeli soldiers and relatives carry the flag-draped casket of 1st Sgt. Matityahu Ya'akov Perel, who was killed in combat in the Gaza Strip, during his funeral at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem, Israel, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Israeli soldiers attend the funeral of 1st Sgt. Matityahu Ya'akov Perel, who was killed in a battle in the Gaza Strip, at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Palestinians carry the bodies of their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Kareem Al-Dabaji mourns his brother Anas Al-Dabaji, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit an apartment in Deir Al-Balah, at Al-Aqsa Hospital morgue in Deir Al-Balah, Gaza, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Members of the Bedouin community, part of Israel's Palestinian minority who have Israeli citizenship, attend the funeral of Yosef Al Zaydani in Rahat, southern Israel, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 after the Israeli military said his body of was recovered in an underground tunnel in southern Gaza Strip. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Members of the Bedouin community, part of Israel's Palestinian minority who have Israeli citizenship, attend the funeral of Yosef Al Zaydani in Rahat, southern Israel, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 after the Israeli military said his body of was recovered in an underground tunnel in southern Gaza Strip. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Smoke rises following an explosion in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Smoke rises following an explosion in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Palestinian women look at a damaged residential building following an overnight Israeli strike in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinian kids look at a damaged residential building following an overnight Israeli strike in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, as seen from Sderot, southern Israel, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)