Sixers, Embiid knock off the Hornets
Question this! There were a lot of questions surrounding the 76ers' four victories in five games heading into Friday night. No one can deny that they are playing better basketball. It's just that those victories came against some of the league's worst teams.
Question this!
There were a lot of questions surrounding the 76ers' four victories in five games heading into Friday night. No one can deny that they are playing better basketball. It's just that those victories came against some of the league's worst teams.
Well, they had the same result Friday night while playing one of the Eastern Conference's top-eight teams.
The Sixers (12-25) slowly are making believers as they defeated the Charlotte Hornets, 102-93, at the Wells Fargo Center. The Hornets (20-20) entered the game with the conference's seventh-best record. They left Philly with their first series loss to the Sixers in seven meetings.
"This just shows our mentality is no matter who we are playing against, we are going to go out and execute our game plan," Robert Covington said. "That's what we did tonight."
Meanwhile, the Sixers extended their winning streak to three games. They have also won five out of the last six games for the first time since winning six out of seven in early 2012.
Joel Embiid finished with 24 points, eight rebounds, three blocks, two steals and five turnovers. The 7-foot-2, 270-pound center has now scored 20 or more points in eight consecutive games.
"He certainly has the whole package – size, agility, he's quick, he's strong," Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said of Embiid. "He brought an energy to his teammates that changed them the way they are playing."
Reserve Dario Saric (15 points), Ersan Ilyasova (12), Covington (11) and reserve point guard Sergio Rodriguez (11) were the other Sixers' scorers in double figures. Reserve Nerlens Noel finished with six points and a game-high four blocked shots.
Nic Batum paced the Hornets with 19 points. Kemba Walker added 17 points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals and four turnovers. However, the standout point struggled from the field as the Hornets extended their losing streak to four games. He made just 7-of-23 shots - including 2 for 9 on three-pointers.
"There's no shutting him down," Sixers point guard T.J. McConnell said of his counterpart. "But [the Sixers were] trying to make him take tough shots and have him run all over the place."
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, a native of Somerdale, Camden County, finished with 12 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. Cody Zeller (16 points, 10 rebounds) also had a double-double for Charlotte.
Embiid helped to fire up the Sixers during pregame introductions.
Like former WWE wrestler Triple H, Embiid spat a mouthful of water into the air after running onto the court. Triple H was his favorite wrestler.
Following his lead, the Sixers jumped out to an early seven-point lead. Charlotte, who never led in the game, knotted the score early in the third quarter. But the Sixers regrouped and built a commanding 13-point cushion with 4 minutes, 13 seconds remaining in the quarter.
The Hornets were held to 32.9 percent shooting – including making just 6 of 23 three-pointers. They also committed a high-worst 19 turnovers.
"We played great defense," Embiid said. "We got stops, and we played together. We trusted each other."
For Gerald Henderson (eight points), Friday marked a matchup against one of his former teams. The Charlotte Bobcats drafted him 12th overall in the 2009 draft. The Bobcats changed their name to the Hornets before the start of the 2014-15. Henderson was traded along with Noah Vonleh to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Batum on June 24, 2015.
Then he signed a two-year free-agent deal with the Sixers for $18 million on July 9.
"That was two teams ago," Henderson said of facing Charlotte. "You know obviously more than anything, you want to win [against a former team]. It's obviously another game. You want to win and you want to play well. But everybody just move on with their careers."
Henderson still has ties to the franchise and Charlotte.
Walker remains one of his best friends.
"We live right down the street from each other when I got back in the summer time," Henderson said. "Coach Cliff [Steve Clifford] is a great guy."
Notes. Reserve center Richaun Holmes was reassigned to the Delaware 87ers, the Sixers' NBA Development League team. Embiid will miss Saturday's game at the Washington Wizards to rest. Noel is expected to start in his place with Jahlil Okafor playing a reserve role. Okafor sat the bench in the last four games.
Sixers coach Brett Brown said he will continue to bring Henderson and Rodriguez off the bench, while starting McConnell and shooting guard Nik Stauskas.
@PompeyOnSixers