Charlotte Hornets: Three players that stood out in OT loss to the 76ers

The Charlotte Hornets fell short in an overtime thriller against Philadelphia on Friday night, where three players stood out, and two did not.

The Charlotte Hornets started their three-game road-trip with a real barn burner of a game against the Philadelphia 76ers. The team worked their way from being down 21 half-way through the third quarter, to being up 5 with 1:18 left in the 4th quarters.

Kemba Walker had a chance to win the game in the final seconds of regulation, missing a right-handed floater in the lane as time expired. The 76ers duo of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons played well and sealed the deal down the stretch.

Joel Embiid finished with 42 points and 18 rebounds, while going 19-22 from the foul line. Ben Simmons ended with 22 points, without shooting a jumper (of course).

Five of the six Hornets losses this season have come by four or fewer points. Last night seemed like the night that we would finally break through and win one of these close games, but it wasn’t to be. Kemba Walker’s game-tying three-point attempt with 18 seconds left in overtime was tipped by a swarming Ben Simmons, thus sealing the deal.

On a positive note, there were some very solid performances from some players in last nights effort. The team worked hard to claw their way back after an awful 2nd quarter in which they were outscored 32-17.

A lot of positives can be taken from last nights loss, so let’s look at the players that stood out the most.

3. Jeremy Lamb

Jeremy Lamb made a huge impact early in the game. In the recent weeks, Malik Monk has been knocking on the door, and there are rumblings from some fans who would like Malik to get a start over Jeremy, but Monk’s sloppy play with the ball tonight, in my opinion, solidifies Jeremy’s spot in the starting lineup for at the least the next couple games.

In a game where Kemba had 8 points going into the 4th, Charlotte needed a player to step up and take a little control on the offensive end.

Jeremy stepped up with 17 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist while shooting 6-12 from the field and drained 3-4 from three-point range in 24 minutes. He was forced off mid-way through the 4th quarter with a right groin strain.

My favorite play of his tonight was this cut into the paint and the slam off of the touch pass from Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to cut it to single digits: