The 2024-25 Sixers have their first winning streak.
Though they squandered a 19-point lead Tuesday night in Charlotte, the Sixers ultimately eked out a 110-104 victory over the Hornets and improved to 5-14.
Paul George tallied 29 points on 10-for-16 shooting and eight assists. Tyrese Maxey added 21 points and seven assists.
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The Hornets fell to 6-15 with their sixth consecutive loss. Brandon Miller scored 34 points and Nick Richards posted a 22-point, 14-rebound double-double.
The Sixers were down two centers in Joel Embiid (left knee injury management/personal reasons) and Andre Drummond (right ankle sprain). Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges, Tre Mann and Grant Williams were out with injuries.
Next up for the Sixers is a Wednesday night meeting with the Magic in Philadelphia. Here are observations on their tight win over the Hornets:
George and Oubre in the groove early
NBA
KJ Martin started his first game since the Sixers’ regular-season opener and Guerschon Yabusele began the night at center.
Defensive rebounding was an obvious challenge for the Sixers. With George switched onto him, Richards grabbed an early offensive board and converted an and-one layup.
Overall, the Sixers' lack of size wasn't very problematic in the early going. Two Yabusele offensive rebounds led to the team’s first four points. The Sixers played active, high-energy defense and didn’t mind most Charlotte jumpers. The Hornets were just 3 for 14 from three-point range in the first half.
On the other end, Kelly Oubre Jr. and George sunk just about all of the shots that had been frustratingly rimming out to start this season.
Oubre, who entered Tuesday’s game at 25.3 percent from three-point territory, drained his first four long-range jumpers. George came into Charlotte with a 28.6 season three-point percentage. He went on a personal 9-0 run with a trio of jumpers in the second quarter, emphatically breaking the Sixers out of a mini-funk. Playing with a large brace on the left knee that’s sidelined him twice this year, George’s game was still quite fluid.
While Maxey had another rough shooting start, his passing was a significant positive. He got every teammate touches in the flow of the offense and dished out four assists in the first quarter, including a pick-and-roll feed that set rookie big man Adem Bona up for an unguarded dunk.
McCain the brightest off the bench
Caleb Martin, who’d missed the Sixers’ win Saturday over the Pistons because of upper back soreness, came off the bench.
Kyle Lowry and Reggie Jackson were also available after sitting out the Detroit game with a right hip strain and right knee soreness, respectively. Jackson wasn’t part of the Sixers’ 10-man rotation
Jared McCain, the reigning Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month, was the best player for the Sixers’ second unit. He didn’t seem concerned at all by a shooting downturn over the prior three games. McCain swished a catch-and-shoot triple on his first attempt.
Across the board, the Sixers’ bench defended hard and attacked in transition. McCain (17 points) stole the ball on the opening play of the second quarter, then pushed it forward and assisted a Ricky Council IV slam.
Before Tuesday, the Sixers ranked third in the NBA in defensive turnover percentage and the Hornets ranked 26th in offensive turnover percentage, according to Cleaning the Glass. The Sixers cashed in on several of Charlotte’s early miscues, scoring the game’s first nine points off turnovers. They built a lead as high as 18 points in the first half, although the Hornets made a sustained run late in the second and early in the third quarter.
The Sixers’ one big first-half disadvantage came at the free throw line. They frequently resorted to fouling Richards inside and shot 15 fewer free throws than the Hornets in the first half (18-3).
Maxey gets the job done in the clutch
McCain kept rolling in the third quarter, drilling consecutive corner threes, and the Sixers grew their lead to 78-59.
The Hornets weren't out of it, though. Yabusele and Caleb Martin's jumpers continued to misfire. That pair combined to go 5 for 19 from the field and 1 for 10 from three-point range.
The Sixers' mistakes started to accumulate. Bona was generally solid behind Yabusele, but he committed a turnover late in the third quarter when he caught the ball from George on the short roll and fired a panicky jump pass between two teammates. Next time down, McCain got stripped on a drive by Tidjane Salaun and the rookie forward scored a put-back layup seconds later.
Charlotte carried momentum into the fourth quarter. George stepped up, twice answering Miller jumpers with contested threes of his own, but the Sixers couldn't regain control. The Hornets were scrappy and the Sixers helped them with miscues like an apparent miscommunication that allowed Cody Martin an easy layup.
In the end, Maxey and the Sixers' defense did just enough down the stretch. Maxey wound up scoring his team's final 11 points, including a go-ahead lay-in with 29.7 seconds left.
To his credit, Maxey clearly wanted the ball in the clutch and trusted himself to make crucial free throws despite his struggles from the field. He went 7 for 8 at the foul line over the final 79 seconds and got the Sixers (barely) across the finish line.