PHILADELPHIA (AP) – December 9, 2011 (WPVI) —
Jrue Holiday scored 24 points, including 15 in the last 5:35 of the fourth quarter, to propel the Philadelphia 76ers to a 101-94 preseason victory over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night.

JaVale McGee led Washington with 20 points, 12 in the fourth quarter. John Wall scored 17.

The Wizards took an 88-87 lead with 2:45 to play on a pair of free throws by McGee. Holiday then hit two 3-pointers, sandwiched around a hook shot by Nikola Vucevic, to give the Sixers a 95-88 edge with 1:09 left. The fourth quarter featured nine lead changes.

Washington took a 52-47 lead into halftime after Philadelphia’s Nikola Vucevic made a 3 at the buzzer.

The Wizards had a 10-point advantage late in the half, behind Wall’s 13 points.

(Copyright ©2011 WPVI-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)

Read More: David West (F – NOH), New Orleans Hornets, Washington Wizards

The Washington Wizards are among the teams to express interest in New Orleans Hornets free-agent forward David West, reports Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated, citing a source. West, a two-time All-Star, exercised the early termination option in his contract, forgoing the final year of his deal, valued at $7.5 million according to ShamSports.

Wednesday was the first day teams were allowed to contact free agents following the NBA lockout, though they cannot sign players or offer contracts to them until Dec. 9, which is unusual by NBA standards, writes Tom Ziller of SBNation.com.

West, an eight-year veteran, owns career averages of 16.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 49 percent shooting from the field. An excellent mid-range shooter, West has teamed with Hornets point guard Chris Paul to form a potent pick-and-roll/pick-and-pop attack. In his most recent season, West, 31, posted per-game averages of 18.9 points, 7.6 boards, and 50.8 percent shooting in just 35 minutes.

For more Wizards coverage, please visit Bullets Forever, SB Nation’s Wizards blog. For a complete list of 2011 NBA free agents, please visit SBNation.com.

What’s your take on Wale’s new album? (Josh Sisk/FTWP)
Wale’s “Ambition” has been on retail shelves for about 62 hours and the online chatter is still going strong. In Tuesday’s paper, I compared the Washington rap star to my beloved Washington Wizards — a team I still have faith in despite its losing ways. In a hivemind coinky-dink, the Post’s Michael Lee interviewed Wale about those very same Washington Wizards in Tuesday’s Sports section. Read that story and a bonus Q&A with Wale right here.

Meantime, the comments on my review have been lively, with plenty of readers sticking up for their man — and a few who agree that “Ambition” is a disappointment (including Boobie of the OY Boyz?).

What is the rest of the internet saying about Wale’s latest?

The Associated Press liked it, claiming that the rapper’s “hard work has paid off creatively.” The BBC didn’t, describing some of the tunes as “downright baffling.” XXL thought Wale seemed “freer, both musically and mentally.” And that guy who blogs in the voice of Ghostface Killah said that listening to Wale’s new single “Lotus Flower Bomb” felt “like havin a waterfall of ovaries comin thru all the windows n doors in ya crib when you listen to it son.”

But the Washington City Paper delivered the harshest critique we’ve seen, with a possibly-unprecedented-cover-story-album-review-take-down titled “#WaleFlail.” The review starts off by making the same exact point that the City Paper criticized me for making in a 2009 article about Wale’s influence on the D.C. rap scene, and then launches into a 3,000-plus word evisceration of Wale’s career trajectory, his Twitter persona, even his music.

For a completely opposite take, head over to the Couch Sessions, where, “Wale’s ambition was not to be your superstar, but the world’s superstar.”

That’s a silver-lining that I’m still squinting to see.