Hornets Defeat Sixers in War of Attrition

By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)

Charlotte 92, Philadelphia 91 – Box Score

Saturday night featured a basketball game with huge postseason implications that came down to an exciting finish in the final minute. I speak, of course, of Sixers-Hornets, a game Charlotte desperately needed to cling to its playoff hopes, but one the Sixers were determined not to give up easily.

Both teams were feeling the rigors of the tail-end of an 82-game season entering play, as the Hornets were without three starters in Al Jefferson, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Cody Zeller, while Philadelphia sat out the equally dangerous trio of Isaiah Canaan, Jason Richardson, and Thomas Robinson with injuries. Things got even worth on the injury front in the second quarter when Nerlens Noel caught an elbow from Noah Vonleh on the Charlotte rookie’s put-back dunk. Noel would leave the game for good with what was later reported as a laceration of the lower eyelid.

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Still, the Sixers gamely hung in there, actually recorded a season-high of 14 blocks, ironic for a contest Noel played just 10 minutes. The proverbial torch of rejection was passed to Jerami Grant, who swatted away 6 Hornets. Along with 10 points on 2-3 shooting from downtown, it was Grant’s best performance in quite some time. Seeing him return to the form of his January hot stretch would be a welcome storyline as this season winds down.

Nevertheless, one man who found a way around the Sixers’ rim protection was Kemba Walker. On the 4-year anniversary of his NCAA title win with UConn, Walker made Philadelphia look like Butler, scoring an efficient 24 points on 11-21 shooting, including 17 points in the second half. However, it was his fellow backcourt mate who delivered the final blow, as Gerald Henderson’s drive on the right-hand side banked in with 6 seconds left to put Charlotte back up a single point. The Sixers had one final look, but Ish Smith’s floated banked off the glass before clanging off the front iron, sealing Philadelphia’s 3rd last-second loss in the past 4 games.

Other Game Notes:

• The Sixers received strong shooting nights from both Robert Covington and Hollis Thompson. Covington finished 3-6 from three to tie for a team-high 15 points, while Thompson sank 3 of 5 triples for 14 points in just 23 minutes off the bench.
• Hopefully, Noel’s injury doesn’t prove to be something to miss any more action. Not only would it derail his outside shot at Rookie of the Year, which would be outstanding just as a feel-good story for the fans and a morale boost for the team, but Noel not taking the court would plummet the watchability of the team down the stretch.
• The bottom half of the standings look to be locked in as the Knicks and Wolves both refuse to win, while the Magic have won a couple games to pull away from the Lakers. It looks like the bottom 4 is going to be NY, MIN, PHI, LAL in that order. Sixers’ fans should turn their attention to the Miami and Oklahoma City picks, both of which are in jeopardy of reverting back to those other teams for this draft.