Harris, Embiid lead 76ers past Hornets
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid had 19 points and 14 rebounds and Tobias Harris scored 24 points to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 127-112 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night.
Ben Simmons had 15 points, 12 rebound and 11 assists to help the Sixers beat the Hornets for the 12th straight time. Philadelphia has not lost to Charlotte since Nov. 2, 2016.
Terry Rozier scored 35 points for the Hornets.
The Sixers are rolling in Doc Rivers’ first season on the bench and followed a 24-point win over Orlando with another victory where they led by double digits for most of the game.
Maligned in Philly for a paycheck not commensurate with his production, Harris has become the catch-and-shoot 3-point ace the Sixers needed to give them another scoring threat alongside All-Stars Embiid and Simmons. Yet it was Harris' full-court drive-and-dunk down the lane that posterized — or perhaps GIF’d in the modern era — Bismack Biyombo and left the Hornets reeling.
The Sixers got a little something from everyone, including 21 points from Seth Curry and 13 from Danny Green, two offseason pickups the Sixers hoped would address outside shooting woes.
Harris blossomed when he played for the Clippers (43% on 3s) under Rivers before he was traded to Philadelphia in 2019. Harris stumbled from long-range in his 1 1/2 seasons with the 76ers only to find the reunion with his old coach the spark he needed to find his stroke. He hit all 3 attempts in the first half and the Sixers hit 12 of 22 overall before halftime to lead 73-58.
The Sixers hit a lull in the third. Green’s lazy entry pass was picked off by Rozier and Rivers threw up his hands in exasperation. Rozier hit Gordon Hayward for the bucket that cut it to 94-83 and the Sixers called timeout.
No worries in Philly.
Simmons scored consecutive buckets late in the fourth, the second on an alley-oop from Curry that had the Sixers drummers — aka the Sixers Stixers — going wild. Hey, someone had to with fans still banned from the Wells Fargo Center.
TIP-INS:
HORNETS: Coach James Borrego said it was too early in the season to consider shaking up the starting lineup. “If there’s changes to be made, we’re going to make them,” he said. That meant another game off the bench for the No. 3 overall pick, LaMelo Ball. Ball scored 13 points had four steals and continued to show flashes as the best Hornet on the court.
76ERS: F Mike Scott sat out with an injured left knee suffered Thursday in Orlando.
HE SAID IT
Much like predecessor Brett Brown, Rivers downplays Simmons’ struggles from 3-point range. Simmons hit his first 3 of the season - and third ever in 222 games — Thursday against Orlando. “We didn’t have a parade or anything, I can tell you that,” Rivers said.
UP NEXT
The Hornets can sample o ne of the five NBA-approved Philadelphia restaurants when they stick around the city for the rematch on Monday. Borrego is a fan of the new format necessitated by the pandemic. “It’s like a miniseries. It’s like a playoff-type setting,” he said. Rivers said he has long the championed the format but joked he’d reserve his final opinion until Tuesday. He's off to a good start.
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