Hornets snap a 16-game losing streak against 76ers
The Hornets didn’t pop champagne or go wild in the locker room following a win over the Sixers more than five years in the making.
There was just a simple message from Gordon Hayward: On to the next game.
“We talked about it before the game. We talked about ending the streak,” Hayward said. “It was a big win for us. But it was just one.”
Hayward made his first nine shots and scored 30 points and the Charlotte Hornets beat the Philadelphia 76ers 109-98 on Wednesday night to snap a 16-game los- ing streak in the series.
The Hornets hadn’t won against the Sixers since Nov. 2, 2016 and held the longest active losing streak to one team in the NBA.
Now the winning streak stands at one.
“We battled with these guys for a number of years and it feels like every shot at the end of the game has gone their direction,” Hornets coach James Borrego said.
All the Hornets needed was a flawless first half out of Hayward to get them going.
Hayward came out firing with a 9 of 9 first half — that included four 3-pointers — for 22 points that put the Hornets up 14 at the break. Hayward, who averaged 17 points, became the fourth Hornets player to score 20 points in the first half since the 1996-97 season.
“I had some easy looks and I was able to knock them down,” Hayward said.
Terry Rozier scored 22 points for the Hornets and Miles Bridges added 21.
Joel Embiid scored 31 points for the fifth straight game and the Sixers’ sevengame winning streak ended.
Embiid continued to do Embiid things and wrecked the Hornets with every kind of a shot from a step-back 3 to a down-the-lane dunk that left the backboard shaking.
His recent stretch is one of the best in team history, joining Allen Iverson and Wilt Chamberlain as the only Sixers to score 30-plus points in eight straight games. Embiid made 10 of 17 shots and 10 of 14 free throws against the Hornets.
“It’s the skill and the power,” Borrego said. “He knows how to play the game. The way he can impose his size and power on the game and still use skill and finesse at the same time.”
CELTICS 119, PACERS 100 >> Jaylen Brown scored 34 points, Jayson Tatum added 33 and Boston beat Indiana.
Boston snapped a sixgame road losing streak, beating Indiana for the second time in three days and the fourth straight time.
Myles Turner had 18 points for Indiana. The Pacers have lost two in a row and eight of nine. WIZARDS 112, MAGIC 106 >> Kyle Kuzma had 19 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists to help Washington beat Orlando.
Washington has won three in a row, and the Wizards won for a second consecutive night without star guard Bradley Beal, who was out because of health and safety protocols.
Cole Anthony had 19 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists for the NBA-worst Magic. They have lost 10 in a row.
HEAT 115, HAWKS 91 >> Tyler Herro had 21 points and Miami scored the first 16 of the second half to break open a close game to beat Atlanta.
Herro added 11 assists and Caleb Martin added 18 points.
John Collins led Atlanta with 16 points. Trae Young had 15.
LAKERS BRING BACK DOUMBOUYA >> The Lakers resigned forward Sekou Doumbouya to a two-way contract. Doumbouya, a former first-round pick for Detroit in 2019, played two games with the Lakers earlier this season before the team released him following a foot injury.