76ers get needed win against one of league’s worst teams
PHILADELPHIA — Other than the return of their superstar, there was only one thing the Sixers really needed Saturday night.
And they got it in the form of a 109-98 win over the lowly Charlotte Hornets, Tyrese Maxey scoring 30 points, Kelly Oubre 22.
The Sixers (37-30) did it the hard way as they squandered a lead in the fourth quarter. But Maxey, Oubre and Nico Batum of all Sixers came through. Batum’s three-pointer in the last two minutes basically iced the game for the Sixers, who have won just eight of their last 25 starts to tumble into a tie for seventh place in the playoff standings.
“Winning makes you happy,” Maxey said.
The Sixers improved to 11-21 in games this season without injured Joel Embiid, the league’s leading scorer, who coach Nick Nurse is “pretty confident” will return this season.
“It usually comes down to some shot-making and stop-making, right?” Nurse said. “We were able to do both in the last three minutes of the game.”
The Hornets (17-51), whose 8-27 road record is the third worst in the Eastern Conference, put up a fight before falling.
The Sixers were down Embiid and starting forward Tobias Harris, who was nursing a sprained ankle that’s limited his production.
But Maxey stepped up from the outset to give the Sixers life. He scored 10 points in the first quarter to stake the Sixers to a 27-24 lead and added four more first-half points despite getting hit in the face by Brandon Miller, who was ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul with 2:51 left in the half, the Sixers holding a 47-39 lead.
Miller swung the elbow while trying to dribble around Maxey, who had his nose bloodied. Maxey is fortunate he didn’t sustain another concussion, as he missed four games after taking a shot to the head.
“I’ve never seen that before, a Flagrant 2 on the ball handler,” Nurse said.
It was that kind of game. The Hornets are awful, and in addition to moving on without one of their leading scorers in Miller, were without the services of their best player, LaMelo Ball. Yet they still were within 66-62 entering the fourth quarter and grabbed a fourpoint lead in the final frame before the Sixers rallied. Tre Mann led the Hornets with 21 points.
Without Harris, Nurse figured he’d play a little smaller lineup and use 6-6 forward KJ Martin at power forward. But it was the guards who made it work. That included Kyle Lowry, who had five points, six rebounds and seven assists.