By Matt Rochinski, hornets.com
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Result
Kemba Walker paced Charlotte with 23 points and Dwight Howard added 21 but the Hornets saw their five-game winning streak come to an end at the hands of a red-hot shooting Celtics team in Boston, 134-106. The Celtics finished shooting 62.1 percent from the field, including 60.0 percent from long range as Charlotte opened its three-game road trip with a tough loss.
Turning Point
The Hornets were in control of this one for the majority of the contest, building a 14-point lead late in the third quarter, and despite seeing that lead evaporate, regained the lead on two Kemba Walker free throws with 4:59 remaining in the game to take a 94-93 lead. After playing solid defensively most of the game, a handful of consecutive miscues would prove costly for Charlotte as it gave up two free throws to Robert Covington and three-straight baskets inside on a layup from J.J. Redick, a driving dunk from Ben Simmons and a layup from Ehsan Ilyasova in a span of 1:47. The Hornets meanwhile would miss on three consecutive attempt on consecutive possessions and saw their one-point lead become a five-point deficit they could not erase.
Hornets Player of the Game (Pick up your Kemba Walker gear here)
Kemba Walker scored a game-high 31 points on 11-of-21 shooting from the field, including 4-of-10 shooting from outside the arc. This is Walker’s 12th game with 30+ points and his 47th game with multiple made three-point field goals this season. Walker also handed out five assists, swiped one steal and grab one rebound, which allowed him to pass J.R. Reid for 10th place on the franchise’s all-time rebounding leader board with 1,904.
76ers Player of the Game
Joel Embid continued to show why “The Process” continues to work as he tallied a team-high 23 points and notched the double-double with 15 rebounds. He also blocked a game-high three shots and dropped four dimes.
Game Notes
Frank Kaminsky recorded his fifth-straight double-digit scoring performance with 19 points off the bench to go with four rebounds and three assists… Nic Batum nearly completed a triple-double, finishing with 14 points, a season-high 13 rebounds and eight assists. Batum now has a career-high seven-straight games with 7+ assists. It is the longest streak by a Charlotte player since March 1-11, 2015 (Mo Williams)… Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (left hamstring strain) returned and finished with nine points, one rebound, one assist and one steal in 31 minutes… Willy Hernangomez scored his first points as a Hornet and finished with six points, seven rebounds and an assist in 16 minutes off the bench… The 76ers outshot the Hornets 50.6 percent (41-of-81) to 42.0 percent (34-of-81) from the field and 76.0 percent (19-of-25) to 62.5 percent (20-of-32) from the charity stripe… Cody Zeller (left knee soreness) did not play… This was Philadelphia’s 11th-straight win at home.
Quote of the Night
“It was effort plays (in the last few minutes) as much as anything, which is what they’re really good at. They use their size and their athleticism and they turned up their defense. As much as anything, it was offensive rebounds and we made a couple coverage mistakes. Give them credit.” – Head Coach Steve Clifford
Next Up<br
Charlotte’s three-game road trip concludes with a 6 p.m. tip on Sunday in Toronto. The game can be seen on FOX Sports Southeast or heard on WFNZ or on the official Charlotte Hornets mobile app.