Hornets Lose a Heartbreaker in Overtime

The Charlotte Hornets, even with a fantastic game by Kelly Oubre Jr., could not overcome the Philadelphia 76ers in overtime, losing 127-124.

The Hornets came out ready to go. Cody Martin started in place of Ish Smith, who entered health and safety protocols, along with four other Hornet players. Nick Richards scored six early points, while Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 12 and played the entire first quarter.

JT Thor got hot in the last two minutes of the quarter, opening up his NBA scoring with a forceful, one-handed dunk over Andre Drummond. On the next possession, James Bouknight ran down two offensive boards that led to a Thor 3-pointer. It was part of four straight 3-point possessions. The Hornets ended the first quarter with an eleven point lead, 34-23.

Bouknight scored his first career field goal early in the second quarter. The 76ers started the quarter on fire, shooting 9-for-9 from the field to close the deficit and take the lead. They continued their great shooting throughout the quarter, turning their double digit deficit into a double digit lead, while the Hornets offense went silent.

The Hornets were able to get back in the game. Miles Bridges connected on a shot from downtown with less than three seconds left, then Oubre stole the ensuing inbound pass and hit a buzzer beating 3-pointer. At the half, the Hornets trailed by 5, 67-62.

Richards hit some early baskets in the second half to help him get into double figures for the first time in his young career. The third quarter did not have many highlights, but the Hornets did get a couple of key 3-pointers from P.J. Washington, one of them was over center Joel Embiid, who had a monstrous game of his own, and Oubre continued to have it on automatic. Gordon Hayward converted a buzzer beating layup to bring the Hornets within two, 95-93, going into the fourth quarter.

The 76ers went on a mini run with Embiid resting, but that run was snapped by Bouknight’s first career 3-pointer. The Hornets took the lead on a Martin coast to coast layup that followed a Bouknight dunk.

Embiid tied the game over the next couple of possessions with a 18-foot jump shot with 29.4 seconds left. Bridges could not hit a step-back jumper from the great beyond, giving the 76ers a chance to win, but Embiid’s fall-away jumper did not drop. The game went into overtime with the score tied 119 all.

Embiid continued to impose his will with the first two baskets of the extra session, but Oubre kept the Hornets alive with a couple of shots of his own. The Hornets eventually ran out of steam and the game slipped through their fingertips.

“I feel like the last couple of games I have really imposed myself inside,” Embiid said.

Despite the loss, coach James Borrego had nothing but praise for the play of his short-handed team, which was coming off a win against Atlanta on Sunday night, calling it a “fantastic effort.”

“As proud as I was of them (Sunday) night, I was even more proud with them tonight,” Borrego said. “Just their spirit, resiliency, but it is who we are and nothing is changing. We are building, we’re growing and we are on a mission here to get better, stronger, be a contender and basically keep climbing.”

Joel Embiid had a season-high 43 points, 15 rebounds and 7 assists for the 76ers. Tobias Harris, who returned from a one-game absence due to illness, had 21 points and 11 rebounds. The 76ers shot an impressive 52.9% from the field and earned back-to-back wins for the first time since November 4-6.

Kelly Oubre Jr. had another standout game with 35 points, with six 3-pointers for the Hornets. Nick Richards had a career high 12 points. Rookie guard James Bouknight also had a career-best 11 points. JT Thor had a career high 8 points.

The teams will have a day to rest before facing each other again on Wednesday in Charlotte.