Jeremy Lamb’s layup lips out, as Charlotte Hornets fall to Philadelphia 76ers
Charlotte Hornets guard Jeremy Lamb’s driving layup rimmed out in the final seconds, and Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris hit two free throws for a 118-114 victory at Spectrum Center.
Harris had hit one of two free throws, off a foul by Hornets center Bismack Biyombo, with eight seconds left, giving the Hornets their last possession down two.
Lamb tied the score at 109-109 with 1:45 left on a 3-pointer, then Sixers forward Jimmy Butler replied with a 3 with 1:22 remaining.
Lamb drove off a handoff from teammate Frank Kaminsky, drawing a shooting foul from Philadelphia’s James Ennis. Lamb made both to leave the Hornets down one.
The Sixers and Hornets traded misses, then Ennis swished a 3, off a pass from Butler for a four-point lead with 18.4 seconds remaining.
Lamb got three free throws with 12 seconds left, on a shooting foul from Ennis outside the 3-point line. He made all three and the Sixers called timeout.
Lamb scored a team-high 26 points while Kemba Walker added 21 for the Hornets. The Sixers got 28 points from Ben Simmons and JJ Redick nearly assembled his first career triple-double, finishing with 27 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
Three who mattered
Redick: He got Walker in early foul trouble and poured it on with 21 first-half points, making 5-of-8 from 3-point range.
Walker: Was revved for the third quarter after having to sit for so long.
Simmons: Made 10 of his first 11 shots from the field.
Observations
▪ The last thing the Hornets needed Tuesday was quick foul trouble for Walker. He was charged with two fouls in the game’s first two minutes and three in the first quarter. Walker played a season-low six first-half minutes
▪ Walker’s foul trouble pushed rookie Devonte Graham into the game early. Veteran point guard Tony Parker was inactive, for rest.
▪ Shelvin Mack played for the first time in 12 games. The Hornets claimed him off waivers just after the trade deadline in February as veteran insurance at point guard, but he’s been beaten out by Graham for what minutes there are behind Walker and Parker.
▪ With Walker’s foul trouble, this game could have been over at halftime. Instead, Hornets trailed by only three. Credit the Hornets bench, which outscored Philadelphia’s reserves 31-4.
▪ Hornets forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had an ugly collision with the 76ers’ Amir Johnson in the third quarter and had to be helped to the locker room.. He was being evaluated for a possible concussion.
Worth mentioning
▪ Hornets center Cody Zeller missed his fourth consecutive game due to left knee soreness, but he was well enough to do some shooting and agility drills pregame.
▪ Sixers center Joel Embiid sat out Tuesday’s game. It’s standard this season for Embiid to play only one of a pair of games on back-to-back nights. The Sixers have a potentially key game to their playoff seeding against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday.
▪ This was Parker’s third inactive for rest in the Hornets’ last five games.
They said it
“It is clear that if you are going to beat them, you are going to have to do something unique on him.” – Sixers coach Brett Brown on guarding Walker, who averaged 42 points in the previous three games against Philadelphia this season.
“Tough, emotional games...I think we’re separated by six points in three games.” – Hornets coach James Borrego on the three tight losses to the Sixers earlier this season.
Report card
C+ OFFENSE: Not a lot of assists, which was a Borrego priority this season.
B+ DEFENSE: .Strong team rebounding
B COACHING: They competed hard after Sunday’s demoralizing loss.
This story was originally published March 19, 2019 at 9:44 PM with the headline "Jeremy Lamb’s layup lips out, as Charlotte Hornets fall to Philadelphia 76ers."
