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.
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?
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).