GRADES: Philadelphia 76ers 114, Charlotte Hornets 106
By Ashley Foltz
The Philadelphia 76ers snapped their three-game losing streak with a semi-frustrating victory back in South Philly.
The Philadelphia 76ers came back to the friendly confines of the Wells Fargo Center looking to break their three-game losing streak after their four-game road trip out west. In a Ben Simmons-less game, Raul Neto started at the point as they took on the Charlotte Hornets.
Joel Embiid looked more invested in this game than the previous one. He started to heat up early scoring seven of the Sixers’ first 11, only four minutes into the game. A beautiful behind-the-back pass from the apparent All-Star Furkan Korkmaz to Neto for three put them up eight early on. As predicted, Trey Burke backed up Neto tonight at the point.
The second quarter got off to a thrilling start when James Ennis went for back-to-back slams. The Sixers ended the quarter in typical Sixers fashion with 12 turnovers which was a major contributor to the Hornets clawing their way back into the game. In addition, the Hornets hit seven threes at 41.2 percent from beyond compared to the Sixers’ 28.6 percent. With Charlotte going on a 26-6 run, the home team trudged into the locker room down 58-53.
A-. <strong>28 mins | 17 pts | 3 reb | 1 ast | 0 stl | 1 blk | 0 TO | 7-14 FG | 3-8 3PT| 0-0 FT | 3 PF | -2 |</strong><p>I need to personally apologize to Korkmaz for every bad thing I have ever said about him. He shot 3-for-8 from beyond and every three felt like a jab to his haters. His off-ball movement made him almost impossible to defend.</p>. SG. Philadelphia 76ers. FURKAN KORKMAZ
C. Philadelphia 76ers. JOEL EMBIID. B-. <strong>26 mins | 18 pts | 9 reb | 3 ast | 2 stl | 2 blk | 2 TO | 6-10 FG | 0-1 3PT| 6-7 FT | 2 PF | +11 |</strong><p>The big fella looked much more spry on the court tonight compared to his performance against the Nuggets. It was pretty much an average looking game for Embiid.</p>
<strong>27 mins | 15 pts | 7 reb | 5 ast | 1 stl | 0 blk | 2 TO | 7-9 FG | 0-1 3PT| 1-1 FT | 1 PF | +25 |</strong><p>Though Horford only attempted one three-pointer tonight, and though it may have been a miss, I was still impressed with his shooting. He was a big help in all areas of the court tonight making clean assists and setting screens.</p>. PF. Philadelphia 76ers. AL HORFORD. A-
JOSH RICHARDSON. B. <strong>32 mins | 11 pts | 7 reb | 6 ast | 1 stl | 0 blk | 3TO | 4-9 FG | 3-6 3PT| 0-0 FT |3 PF | +20 |</strong><p>All around, Richardson had some nice stats, but in 32 minutes I wish he would have put up a few more buckets. Tonight he looked more comfortable taking shots from beyond which is very encouraging.</p>. SG. Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia 76ers. TOBIAS HARRIS. B. <strong>29 mins | 14 pts | 7 reb | 5 ast | 1 stl | 2 blk | 4 TO | 6-9 FG | 0-1 3PT| 2-2 FT | 1 PF | +25 |</strong><p>Harris didn’t attempt a three until the mid-third quarter, and missed it I might add. His three-point shooting has been disappointing thus far into the season. Everything else on the court tonight looked pretty solid though.</p>. PF
Josh Richardson hit a big three to open up the second half which led to a 7-0 run in the Sixers’ favor. Al Horford stood out with a basket and an assist during the run. Tobias Harris attempted his first three of the night (which was a miss), five minutes into the quarter. The Sixers really got their mojo back as they went on a 10-2 run with five minutes left in the quarter topped with a Korkmaz-fashioned three. Are you really surprised by this point?
dark. Next. 3 upsides to playing Neto
Going into the final quarter, there was still no sign of Matisse Thybulle until the very end of the game. The Sixers exemplified excellent ball movement, illustrated by Burke and Richarson as they worked down-court to eventually get Mike Scott a basket. This caused a Hornets timeout as the good guys led by five, 99-84. We finally exposed the fatigue of Charlotte (second night of a back-to-back).