From stinger to stung
After big win over Nets, Sixers slump to loss against Hornets, 107-101
The 76ers were focused on being better than Tuesday night.
With all things considered, their victory over the Brooklyn Nets was their most impressive of the season. But …
“I think we missed about 11 layups,” coach Doc Rivers said. “I’m not talking about contested layups. So we can’t do that again and think we are going to win. But all that other stuff was good.”
The Sixers actually played worse while losing, 107-101, to the Charlotte Hornets Wednesday at the Spectrum Center.
One night after shooting 50% from three, the Sixers made just 23.7% from beyond the arc against the Hornets. A night after grabbing 20 offensive rebounds, they had eight. And the Sixers committed 19 turnovers, leading to 23 points.
All that led to a huge letdown against one of the league’s worst teams 24 hours after a thrilling victory over Ben Simmons and the Nets.
The Sixers were without perennial All-Stars Joel Embiid (left foot sprain) and James Harden (right foot strain) and rising star Tyrese Maxey (left foot fracture) in both games.
Standout reserve Matisse Thybulle (left ankle soreness) also sat on Wednesday’s loss. He played just 3 minutes, 22 seconds on Tuesday because of the injury.
But it’s hard to use their absences as an excuse for losing to the Hornets when they beat Ben Simmons and the Nets in a marquee game without the same players.
The loss dropped the Sixers to 9-9 and snapped their three-game winning streak. Meanwhile, the Hornets (5-14) snapped a three-game skid and won for just the second time in 13 games. They also beat the Sixers for the first time in their last nine games in the Queen City.
Shake Milton paced the Sixers with 22 points, a career-high tying nine assists and seven rebounds. Tobias Harris added 19 points. Terry Rozier led Charlotte with 22 points.
Second-quarter blues
The Sixers built a 33-21 lead after one quarter thanks to 60% shooting from the field. Melton led the charge with 13 points on 4-for-5 shooting. However, his game, as did the Sixers, went missing in the second quarter. Melton failed to score in the second while missing all five of his shot attempts. Meanwhile, the Sixers made just 8 of 24 shots in the quarter, leading to their clinging to a 54-53 haltime lead.
The Hornets went on to take their first lead (55-54) on Terry Rozier’s layup 23 seconds into the second quarter.
Charlotte took a 79-75 in the fourth quarter after closing out the third quarter on a 21-8 run.
Temper, temper
Montrezl Harrell got into a shouting match with a fan in the section behind the Sixers bench after being subbed out midway through the third quarter. Security personnel approached the fan to defuse the situation.
The center played 30 games for the Hornets last season after being acquired in a trade from the Washington Wizards. Harrell signed with the Sixers in free agency after the Hornets didn’t re-sign him.
Still searching for an identity
The Sixers grit was once again on display against the Hornets. But 18 games in, they still don’t have an identity. That has a lot to do with only playing six games with their normal starting lineup because of injuries and ailments.
“We haven’t been allowed to have one,” Rivers said. “We haven’t had our team.
“We need to play a little bit together to see what we can be. I feel very confident in our team. I’d just like to see them play once, but that’s going to come.”
In the meantime, Rivers noted the one identity that team has shown is being resilient.
“There’s a bunch of games already this year. We beat Phoenix without James. We won against Toronto without Joel, and then last night we won without everybody. That says a lot about the character of your team and that’s a good sign moving forward.”
Up next
The Sixers traveled to Orlando following the contest for their two-game series against the Magic at the Amway Center. Orlando will host the Sixers at 7 p.m. Friday and at 6 p.m. Sunday.