PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia 76ers, besides resuming their season after the NBA All-Star break on Friday night, were playing without Nerlens Noel and Ersan Ilyasova, who were jettisoned before Thursday's trade deadline.

"That was the biggest question before we started the game -- how we would come back," rookie forward Dario Saric said.

The Sixers answered it emphatically, building a 22-point lead midway through the fourth quarter and then holding off the Washington Wizards 120-112.

Robert Covington had 25 points, 11 rebounds and four steals, and Saric added 20 points and 11 boards for Philadelphia, which won for the fourth time in five games despite the continuing absence of center Joel Embiid, the team's top scorer and rebounder.

Gerald Henderson also scored 20 points for the Sixers, and Richaun Holmes contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.

"I didn't know we were going to react, but we can only control what we're able to control," Covington said. "We just had to focus on what goes on, on the basketball court."

Bradley Beal poured in 40 points and John Wall collected 29 points, 14 assists and eight rebounds for Washington, which mounted a furious comeback after falling behind 108-86 with 7:04 to play.

Wall's two free throws with 22.9 seconds left brought the Wizards within four at 116-112, but Philadelphia's Nik Stauskas made two free throws with 21.9 remaining and Henderson added two with 7.7 seconds to play.

Markieff Morris notched 14 points and Marcin Gortat had 11 points and 11 rebounds for Washington, which saw a four-game winning streak end. The Wizards also lost for just the second time in 13 outings.

Bojan Bogdanovic, acquired by Washington from Brooklyn on Thursday, scored two points while playing nearly 18 minutes off the bench.

"We didn't have it tonight," Washington coach Scott Brooks said. "We just made too many defensive mistakes. That is unacceptable."

The Sixers sent Noel to Dallas for a package that included veteran center Andrew Bogut and second-year forward Justin Anderson. Anderson did not play Friday night, and Bogut is not with the team while tending to personal business, amid speculation that he will be bought out of his contract.

Ilyasova was sent to Atlanta for center Tiago Splitter. Splitter has not played this season after undergoing hip surgery in February 2016, and he did not dress Friday.

Embiid sat out for the 12th straight game and the 15th time in 16 games because of a bone bruise and meniscus tear in his left knee.

Philadelphia also announced earlier in the day that forward Ben Simmons, the top pick in the 2016 draft, would miss the rest of the season after he underwent a CT scan Thursday showing that his surgically repaired right foot, injured in training camp, still had not fully healed.

The Sixers, down 28-26 after a quarter, surged ahead 36-30 early in the second quarter behind Covington, who contributed a steal and 3-pointer, then a layup, then another 3-pointer.

With Philadelphia leading 43-41 later in the quarter, Saric scored eight points in an 18-6 flurry, two coming on a play where he backed Beal down, spun to the goal and laid the ball in with his left hand.

The Sixers' cushion was 61-49 at halftime, at which point Covington had 18 points and Saric had contributed 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

Beal had 19 points to pace Washington, and Wall had 12 points, six assists and two blocked shots.

Philadelphia made 13 of 22 shots from the floor, 10 of them layups or dunks, while going ahead by as many as 17 in the third quarter. Their lead was 95-81 heading into the fourth quarter.

NOTES: Philadelphia C Tiago Splitter, who in addition to his hip problems has been bothered by calf injuries, said before the game he had been practicing with Atlanta. He hopes to play soon. ... Sixers general manager Bryan Colangelo said at a news conference earlier in the day that he regretted the way the team failed to keep the public apprised of Joel Embiid's injury status. "It was a mistake to put out 'day to day,'" Colangelo said. "It won't happen again." ... The Sixers' bench outscored the Washington reserves 34-11. ... Washington G John Wall, Philadelphia coach Brett Brown and Sixers F Robert Covington were all assessed technical fouls in the fourth quarter.