76ers claim third consecutive victory
76ers claim third consecutive victory
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Philadelphia 76ers are in the middle of a growth spurt, and coach Brett Brown couldn't be happier.
The Sixers won their third straight on Monday night with a 105-99 victory over the reeling Charlotte Hornets, and they did it with balance and what Brown termed a true team effort.
They led by as many as 12 in the first quarter and pulled back out to a 14-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, continuing what has been a solid stretch ever since the turn of the year. They have gone 13-10 so far in 2017 and are now 21-34 for the season.
"I think there is a chemistry growing," Brown said. "I think there is a confidence growing within the chemistry. I think it's born out of these guys (working) their tails off. We put in good days, and we do feel like they add up. And then all of a sudden you get some validation with some wins, and I think it really personifies a team. I really think it reflects a very close team that plays like a team."
Dario Saric came off the bench to lead the way with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Robert Covington scored 17, T.J. McConnell scored 14, Nerlens Noel and Gerald Henderson scored 12 each, Nik Stauskas scored 11, and Ersan Ilyasova had 10 rebounds.
"I think it's a team thing," Brown said. "Everybody co-exists well and collectively find ways to win, with sort of an unlikely group. We've done it with a bunch of different people."
The Sixers were without centers Joel Embiid, who is out with a knee injury, and Jahlil Okafor, who remained in Philadelphia for what the team termed "rest" as he continues to be shopped on the trading block.
The Sixers had to overcome 19 turnovers that cost them 25 points, but they shot 47.7 percent from the field and held a whopping 51-33 rebound advantage.
Brown had special praise for Saric, his 6-10 rookie forward.
"Not so long ago, we would have been talking about, 'Oh, Dario's hit the rookie wall,'" Brown said. "We should all remember that conversation. He obviously hasn't. He's come out of that lull that most people experience in an NBA season and just jumped into it. He is coming around. We are seeing something I think extremely competitive and skilled blossom before our eyes."
The Hornets (24-31) continue to struggle. They have now lost three straight and 10 of their last 11. Their only win in this stretch came over Brooklyn, which has the worst record in the NBA.
Besides getting pounded on the boards, they shot just 43.6 percent from the field, committed 15 turnovers, and were outscored 56-32 in the paint.
"The biggest factors were our first-half turnovers, which put us in a big hole, and then the effort on the glass," Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. "They worked us over. I didn't realize it was that bad. A lot of it was our inability to keep it out of the paint. We scored 52 points in the second half. You have to win that game."
Kemba Walker led the Hornets with 29 points. Batum scored 16, Jeremy Lamb scored 12, and Frank Kaminsky finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
"We can't drop our head," Batum said. "We can't stop believing. We can't quit. We're two games from the eighth spot (in the Eastern Conference playoff race). We're not 15 games behind. We're right there. We're right there and we know we have a good team, so all we got to do is keep believing, keep practicing. We're going to get right there because we have good coaching staff, the right players."
NOTES: The Hornets acquired C Chris Andersen and cash from Cleveland on Monday for a protected second-round pick, and then they promptly waived Anderson. It was a move made strictly to help the Cavs' luxury tax situation, and the Hornets got money for facilitating it. ... Also Monday, the Hornets announced that they had signed G Ray McCallum and C Mike Tobey to their second 10-day contracts. Neither saw any action during their first 10-day stints. ... The Hornets were without G Ramon Sessions (knee surgery) and C Cody Zeller (quad). ... The Sixers already have more wins this season than they did in any of the previous three campaigns. ... This was the third and final game between the teams this season. The Sixers won two of the three. ... The Sixers will remain on the road for a game at Boston on Wednesday. ... The Hornets were closing out a four-game homestand. They'll play at Toronto on Wednesday, then will head back out after the All-Star break with a six-game trip to Detroit, Sacramento, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix and Denver.