WASHINGTON —  Even without Elton Brand, the Philadelphia 76ers were able to avoid becoming one of the unfortunate few to lose a game to the Washington Wizards.

Lou Williams, coming off the bench to score a career high for the second straight game, had 26 points Friday night and the 76ers held on for a 109-103 victory over the hapless Wizards.

Thaddeus Young, starting in place of Brand in a smaller 76ers lineup, and Andre Iguodala added 18 points apiece, and rookie Marreese Speights had a career-high 17 for the 76ers, who improved to 3-0 under interim coach Tony DiLeo.

Williams and Speights helped compensate for the 15.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game the 76ers had been getting from Brand, who is out for a month after dislocating his shoulder Wednesday night against Milwaukee. Brand's presence on the boards was missed as Philadelphia was outrebounded 43-34, but no obstacle is too big to overcome when facing a Wizards team that is now 4-20 and has its third five-game losing streak of the season.

Antawn Jamison scored 23 points despite playing with a strained left thumb, Caron Butler added 20 points, and Mike James had 16 in his second consecutive start as the Wizards fell to 3-10 under interim coach Ed Tapscott.

The game was tied four times over the final 7 1/2 minutes, but it was Iguodala who put the 76ers ahead for good when he hit two free throws to make the score 103-101 with 2:15 remaining. With the next two minutes, Andray Blatche missed two jumpers and DeShawn Stevenson missed one for the Wizards.

Blatche wasn't close with a baseline jumper with 25 seconds to play, and Iguodala hit two more free throws at the other end to make the lead 105-101 with 16.5 seconds left. Philadelphia went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line over the final 13 seconds to seal the win.

It was the second matchup in six days of interim coaches Tapscott and DiLeo, and DiLeo is faring much better.

Williams has been the biggest beneficiary of the Philadelphia coaching change. He is averaging 22 points in three games under DiLeo after just 10.1 points over 22 games this season under Maurice Cheeks. Williams scored 25 points Wednesday against Milwaukee, matching his previous career high.

Notes:@ The Wizards starting lineup announcer remains in a slump as bad as the team's. He announced Jamison as being from "UConn" instead of the University of North Carolina. A few games ago, he had Jamison coming from "North Carolina University." ... The 76ers had been 0-6 when allowed 100 points. ... Tapscott gave some advice to fellow interim coach DiLeo when the teams met last week prior to DiLeo's first game. "Try to relax and enjoy it," Tapscott said he told DiLeo. "It's always special the first time _ and every time after that it's just as hard." ... Wizards F Darius Songaila will serve as honorary captain for his alma mater, Wake Forest, when the Demon Deacons play Navy in Saturday's EagleBank Bowl at RFK Stadium.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.