What Steve Clifford said after the Charlotte Hornets’ worst loss in franchise history

The Charlotte Hornets, who entered Saturday with six players out, fell behind early in a 135-82 blowout by the Philadelphia 76ers.

That 53-point margin makes Saturday night the worst loss in franchise history. And if that weren’t enough, the Hornets’ injury situation managed to get worse.

Gordon Hayward was ruled out pregame with a stomach virus. Terry Rozier headed to the locker room after getting struck in the nose during the third quarter and did not return. A Hornets official said after the game that Rozier is expected to be “fine” and didn’t need stitches.

“One thing about the NBA, you tell them the truth,” head coach Steve Clifford said postgame. “Look, we’ve gotta get our guys back. It’s a brutal stretch. This stretch here — this week, the next two weeks — there’s no easy weeks in this league, but if you look at the upcoming schedule, it’s going to be hard, and we’re not sure when those guys will come back.”

The Hornets (7-17) struggled to slow down New Orleans Pelicans big men Jonas Valanciunas and Zion Williamson on Friday night, and the Sixers didn’t make it any easier down low.

Joel Embiid, the NBA’s reigning MVP, finished with 42 points in three quarters. He just had his way against Nick Richards, who has been starting for the injured Mark Williams.

Hornets fans were heading for the exits throughout the second half. Toward the end of the third quarter, “MVP” chants from the visiting crowd reverberated for Embiid, who scored his points on 18-of-23 shooting.

Hayward and Rozier weren’t even the only Hornets who suffered new injuries in Saturday’s thumping. Ish Smith had a bloody nose in the third quarter, and Brandon Miller collided with the 76ers’ Kelly Oubre Jr. during the first half. Both were able to return to the floor, but not before mid-game trips to the locker room.

On Joel Embiid: “I don’t know what you can do”

“He’s just such a dominant presence at both ends of the floor,” Clifford said. “The dribble up ones, everything else we tried to double team, but when he just brings the ball up the court and plays one-on-one, there’s really not much you can do. He does it out of the flow, centers are having to do something they normally don’t have to do. I feel like the only guy like that at all would be (Nikola) Jokic. He’s different and he’s great at it. Like I said, all the other stuff we tried to double team — some of it worked, some of it did not. He crushed us, and I don’t know what you can do, to be honest.”

What Clifford can take away from the blowout loss

“I think there’s things, like I told the guys, there’ll be things that we can learn from the film that will help — little things, execution things,” Clifford said. “The overall story of the game would be more about the guys that didn’t play than did, I would say. But there’s always things you can learn from a game.”

On what he said to the team its worst loss in franchise history

“We’ve got to find a way to win enough so that when we get everybody in full strength and then a little time to kind of get a game together, that we’re not too far out,” Clifford said. “And right now, we’re not. So much of your record, and this is every year, depends on how good the East is. And right now this year, the East is brutal. If you can get close to .500, I bet you that’ll be good enough to get in.”

This story was originally published December 16, 2023 at 6:22 PM.