WASHINGTON, April 10 (Ticker) -- When the Philadelphia 76ers made their push, Etan Thomas pushed back.

Thomas had career highs of 14 points and 14 rebounds as the Washington Wizards scored the final 13 points in a 90-77 victory over the shorthanded 76ers.

A second-year forward out of Syracuse, Thomas has seen increased playing time of late as the Wizards remain on the fringe of the playoff race and coach Doug Collins would like to look at some of his younger players.

"I've just hung in there. It's been a long year," said Thomas, who spent his entire rookie season on the injured list and endured a trade from Dallas. "I've had a lot of veterans that I've been playing behind and they've been telling me just to keep working hard -- I'm a hard worker -- and things will pay off."

NBA TV highlights from Sixers-Wizards: 56k | 300k Jahidi White had a solid night, making five of seven shots and pulling down eight boards. Mitchell Layton NBAE/Getty Images

The muscular 6-9 forward responded with a big game, more than holding his own in the paint.

"Etan Thomas was terrific," Collins said. "If that does not give us reason for excitement for next year having him play that way ... He's scoring around the basket, his defense, his shot-blocking -- he was tough."

Aaron McKie's three-point play capped a 15-2 run that pulled Philadelphia into a 77-77 tie with 4:43 remaining, but the 76ers did not score again. Courtney Alexander made a jumper and Thomas sank two free throws after an offensive rebound, giving the Wizards an 81-77 edge with 1:57 left.

After Eric Snow and McKie missed jumpers, Richard Hamilton made two free throws with 1:06 to play. Snow missed a pair from the line and Alexander and Hamilton each had two around a block and free throw by Thomas.

"Etan was phenomenal," 76ers coach Larry Brown said. "He blocked shots and kept balls alive. Made big plays. They get 12 blocks, and usually a block allows a team to run."

"That's exactly what coach wanted," Thomas said. "He wanted us to just pick up the `D.' Play with a lot of emotion, play with a lot of heart and play with a lot of energy. That's one of the things he just really kept stressing, and that's what we tried to do."

Hamilton scored 21 points and Alexander added 16 for the Wizards (36-43), whose blocks were a season high. They allowed just 33 points in the first half and limited the 76ers to 37 percent (28-of-75) from the field overall. Thomas also helped Washington to a 48-36 advantage on the glass.

"Coach emphasized rebounds tonight, and so I just went out there and tried to play with a lot of intensity and get some rebounds," Thomas said.

The Sixers (41-37) wasted a career-high 26 points from Snow and sa eason-high 24 from McKie as they remained tied with Charlotte for fifth place in the Eastern Conference. Philadelphia fell to 5-5 since superstar Allen Iverson suffered a broken hand and also was without forward Derrick Coleman (knee) and guard Speedy Claxton (concussion).

"It's a matter of keeping us alive physically," Brown said. "We have a tough trip and then I find out that Derrick's not playing and we don't have Speedy, so I was concerned physically."

Philadelphia's problems were evident in the second quarter, when it was outscored, 33-14. Washington took a 48-33 lead to the locker room and still held a 75-62 bulge after two free throws by Thomas and a reverse layup by Tyronn Lue with 9:21 left.

Snow's three-point play triggered the tying run that featured 10 points from McKie. Thomas was the only Wizard to score for nearly seven minutes. McKie made a 3-pointer and a three-point play to tie it, but Thomas took charge and the Sixers did not score again.

"I do not take any positives out of this game," Snow said. "We fought back from being down 15. If we had played that way the whole game, we would have won."

Jahidi White had 10 points and eight boards for the Wizards, who have won three of four from the Sixers this season. The teams meet for a rare fifth time on Friday in Philadelphia.