Kelly Oubre Jr. and Andre Drummond were tired of the disrespect.
The Philadelphia 76ers found themselves trailing the Charlotte Hornets by 11 points in the third quarter and were in desperate need of a spark. Oubre and Drummond were happy to oblige as Oubre slashed his way to the rim while Drummond dominated the glass.
That lift was all the 76ers needed and before anyone could glance at the Jumbotron, the score was leveled at 119 points. Philadelphia’s backcourt took matters from there, but it was the lift the two veterans provided that positioned the 76ers to win their second consecutive game.
The 76ers (2-0) outlasted the Hornets (1-1) 125-121 at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Saturday night. While Philadelphia didn’t yield an outstanding individual performance, its backcourt continued to shine, Joel Embiid started to look like himself, and its depth showed up when it mattered the most.
Pick your poison
Philadelphia’s back-court variety continues to showcase its worth as Tyrese Maxey, Quentin Grimes, and VJ Edgecombe combined for 67 points.
Maxey led the 76ers in scoring with 28 points on 55.4% true-shooting, nine assists, and six rebounds. He started the evening hot, tallying 12 points behind four three-pointers. Maxey benefited from Philadelphia’s transition play and dribble handoffs with Embiid. However, when those fastbreak opportunities decreased, he began pressing, which resulted in low-percentage shots.
Grimes wasn’t too far behind with 24 points on 7-14 shooting from the field and 5-8 accuracy from beyond the arc. He gunned threes by weathering an effective mix of pull-up threes off ball-screens and spot-up triples while holding up well defensively. Grimes drilled an off-the-catch trifecta to decisively give Philadelphia the lead with 15 seconds left in the contest.
Edgecombe totaled 15 points on 6-15 shooting, eight assists, six rebounds, and three steals in his official home debut. While his efficiency was undesirable, Edgecombe’s constant pressure off the dribble and defensive playmaking provided value. He must work on his shot selection off the dribble, but he has showcased a great deal on both ends of the floor through two games.
Redemption was in the air
It took less than two minutes for Embiid to surpass the four points he scored in Philadelphia’s 117-116 win against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday. He finished with 20 points on 75.8% true-shooting, four assists, and two steals in 20 minutes.
Embiid’s night was over midway through the third quarter because of his minutes restriction. He ran many pick-and-pops, found success against Ryan Kalkbrenner off the point-of-attack, and was more spry defensively. His recovery will be a process, no pun intended, so highs and lows are inevitable.
With Embiid sidelined for most of the second half, Nick Nurse relied upon Andre Drummond and he didn’t disappoint. He finished with seven points on 3-6 shooting from the field, 13 rebounds, and two steals. Drummond hounded the boards as he did with the Detroit Pistons way back when and held up as well as can be expected defending in space.
After logging zero minutes against Boston, Justin Edwards posted nine points on 3-5 shooting from three. He canned spot-up triples and resembled the player many fans were high on during Philadelphia’s struggles last season.
Other stuff
Oubre recorded 16 of his 19 points in the second half, which was vital as Philadelphia’s offense dried up in the third quarter. His aggressiveness off the dribble kept the 76ers within striking distance and spearheaded their double-digit comeback. Sometimes, it’s as simple as that.
Adem Bona recorded zero rebounds in 12 minutes; that simply cannot happen.
LaMelo Ball and Collin Sexton each poured in north of 20 points and picked apart the 76ers’ point-of-attack defense. Philadelphia was unable to defend off the dribble, which allowed the Hornets to create advantages. Charlotte tallied 16 threes, many of which Philadelphia was late to close out on.
The 76ers’ first two wins weren’t pretty, but they were able to rally from behind on both occasions, which is indicative of the culture that’s being built. Philadelphia is establishing a quality foundation that will only grow when Paul George, Jared McCain, and Trendon Watford return.
The 76ers will remain at home to face the Orlando Magic (1-2) on Monday, October 27th at 7 p.m. EST.