Shorthanded Charlotte Hornets fall to the Philadelphia 76ers, 108-94
Missing a number of key players, the Charlotte Hornets struggled in the fourth quarter as they fell to the Sixers.
The Charlotte Hornets (30-41) were defeated by the Philadelphia 76ers (39-30) as they lost their second straight game and eight of their last 10 in total. Kemba Walker‘s 24 points weren’t enough to overcome the dynamic duo of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons who carried the Sixers. Willy Hernangomez provided a surprising spark for the Hornets off of the bench.
Charlotte was without Michael Carter-Williams (left shoulder), Nicolas Batum (left achilles soreness) and Cody Zeller (left knee soreness). MCW is done for the rest of the season while Nic missed his first game and is day-to-day. As for Zeller, he missed his fifth straight outing but is close to returning. Jeremy Lamb replaced Batum in the starting lineup.
Game Story
Charlotte held a seven-point lead at halftime but were outscored 32-14 in the third quarter. The game was tied at 88 with 6:16 left in the fourth period when the 76ers went on an 11-0 run that helped seal the win. Philadelphia ended up closing the game on a 20-6 run. The game was decided beyond the arc as the Hornets only made six three’s compared to 18 for the Sixers.
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Player of the Game
Kemba Walker finished with a team-high 24 points to go along with eight rebounds, six assists and three steals. The two-time all-star struggled from deep as he only shot 1-9 from the three-point line. It’s also worth noting that he was a -11 in +/- in 39 minutes.
Willy Hernangomez put up 17 points and three rebounds off of the bench but didn’t score a single point in the second half after having 15 in the second quarter. Jeremy Lamb added 14 points and eight rebounds while Malik Monk had 13 points and three assists. Marvin Williams (2) and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (5) only combined to score seven points in this one.
The Sixers were led by Joel Embiid who had a monster double-double with 25 points and 19 rebounds. Ben Simmons recorded a triple-double with 11 points, 15 assists and 12 boards. Marco Belinelli had a revenge game with 21 points off of the bench while Robert Covington chipped in 18 points on the night.
Highlight of the Night:
Tweet of the Game:
.@hornets bench not only accounted for 26 points, they had zero turnovers! Monk, Graham, Bacon, Kaminsky, Hernangomez.
— Pete Guelli (@PeteGuelli) March 20, 2018
"Quick Stings"
- MKG was a game-high -40 in +/- while on the court.
- Philadelphia out-rebounded Charlotte, 60-40.
- Kemba scored 20+ points for the 45th time this season.
- Hernangomez finished with a season-high in points.
- Dwayne Bacon was a team-high +17 in 22 minutes.
With the loss, Charlotte falls to 0-3 on the season against Philadelphia. The Hornets have now lost five straight regular-season games to the 76ers dating back to last season. Their fourth and final meeting of the year will be on April 1st in the Queen City.
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In their next outing, the Hornets will travel to Brooklyn to take on the Nets in the final game of their five-game road trip on Wednesday, March 31st. After the two sides split their first two meetings, the winner of this affair will take the season series. Steve Clifford’s side will look to snap their two-game losing streak and get a victory before heading back home.