Charlotte Hornets fall to the Philadelphia 76ers at home, 128-114

Despite a season-high 30 points from Dwight Howard, the Charlotte Hornets still managed to lose to the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Charlotte Hornets (28-37) were defeated by the Philadelphia 76ers (35-28) as they dropped their fourth straight game. Kemba Walker had his worst outing of the season in a game that was a must-win for Charlotte. The Hornets couldn’t slow down the Sixers as they had seven players score in double-figures.

Michael Carter-Williams missed the game with a left shoulder sprain that could keep him out for the rest of the season. Malik Monk received the backup point guard role and scored nine points in 15 minutes. Marvin Williams was dealing with a migraine prior to the game but was healthy enough to give it a go in this one and played 23 minutes.

Game Story

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist‘s ejection late in the second quarter changed the direction of the game. The Hornets were down 54-48 when he was ejected after picking up two technical fouls for arguing with the ref. After that, Philadelphia went on a 15-5 run to push their lead to 16 points just before halftime and they never looked back.

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Player of the Game:

Dwight Howard finished the game with a season-high 30 points to go along with six rebounds and three blocks. He went 12-17 from the field, 5-7 from the free throw line and even added a three-point make to his stat line. He was by far the Hornets best player in this one and the only player to score more than 12 points.

Nicolas Batum added 12 points and 10 rebounds while Treveon Graham led Charlotte’s second unit with 12 points off of the bench. Frank Kaminsky and Marvin Williams each put up 11 points. Jeremy Lamb scored 10 points while Kemba Walker was held to only five points on 1-9 shooting.

The Sixers were led by Robert Covington who ended the night with a team-high 22 points while Dario Saric scored 19. Joel Embiid had 18 points and Ben Simmons recorded a double-double with 16 points and 13 boards. J.J. Redick (14), Ersan Ilyasova (11) and Marco Belinelli (11) rounded out Philadelphia ‘s double-digit scorers.

Highlight of the Night:

Tweet of the Game:

"Quick Stings"

• Dwight scored 20+ points for the 24th time this season.
• Nic passed D.J. Augustin for 7th place on the team’s all-time three-point field goals.
• Batum recorded his fifth double-double of the year.
• The Sixers outrebounded the Hornets, 44-33.
• Howard picked up his 15th technical of the season.

With the loss, Charlotte falls to 0-2 on the season against Philadelphia. The Hornets have now lost four straight regular-season games to the Sixers. Their next meeting will be on March 19th in Philly.

Next: The Charlotte Hornets hidden future

In their next game, the Hornets will host the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday, March 8th in the second game of their three-game homestand. Charlotte won their only previous meeting versus Brooklyn this season. Steve Clifford’s side will look to snap their four-game skid in that one.