CHARLOTTE, N.C. — James Harden misfired from beyond the arc about midway through Friday’s third quarter, but tracked the ball down for the offensive rebound and kicked out to Tobias Harris.
Harris also missed from deep, before Harden again collected the ball and dished to Tyrese Maxey. Maxey also could not connect from long range, but Joel Embiid secured the rebound and — mercifully — made the easy put-back that put the Sixers up by 24 points.
That 19-second sequence against the overmatched Charlotte Hornets epitomized a night when a Sixers team that typically struggles on the glass dominated the rebounding category, 62-35. And that onslaught, combined with another huge night from Embiid along with stingy defense, clinched a commanding 121-82 victory at the Spectrum Center to extend their winning streak to seven games.
The outcome kept the Sixers (47-22) within a game of the Boston Celtics for second place in the East, and four games ahead of the fourth-place Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Sixers initially created distance in the second quarter, outscoring the Hornets, 35-25, to lead by as many as 15 points. That advantage grew to 75-54 with a 9-0 burst to begin the third quarter, including a breakaway dunk by Harris at the 9-minute, 38-second mark. They eventually created a 42-point cushion, by holding the Hornets to 33.7% shooting (5 of 35 from 3-point distance) and 13 points in the third period.
Embiid, an MVP contender, finished with 38 points on 16-of-21 shooting, 13 rebounds, five assists, and four blocks without playing in the fourth quarter. Harris overcame early foul trouble to finish with 18 points on an efficient 7-of-11 shooting from the floor and five rebounds. Harden struggled from the floor (4 of 15), but manufactured his fifth triple-double of the season, with 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists.
The Sixers will conclude this three-game road trip Saturday at the Indiana Pacers, a team they are 3-0 against this season and last topped, 147-143, on March 6. They will then return home for one game against the Chicago Bulls on Monday, before hitting the road again for four games against the Bulls (Wednesday), Golden State Warriors (next Friday), Phoenix Suns (March 25), and Denver Nuggets (March 27).
Embiid’s outburst
Charlotte coach Steve Clifford was asked before Friday’s game how, after Embiid dropped 53 points on his team in their last meeting in December, his team could attempt to slow him down.
But no scheme or individual matchup worked against the NBA’s leading scorer.
He converted shots through contact on consecutive possessions, including a wildly improbable high flip into the basket as he fell to the floor. He sank an array of jumpers and hook shots. He threw down a thunderous one-handed slam, which put the Sixers up, 55-45, late in the second quarter. After missing three of his first four shots, he made nine of his next 10 from the floor for 24 first-half points.
After the break, two consecutive buckets ignited the Sixers’ surge that turned the game into a rout. Later, Embiid got the Sixers’ bench players on their feet with a monstrous block on Kai Jones. And when a jumper through contact bounced high into the air and somehow dropped through the net, Embiid swung his arm down in the “and-1″ motion.
Jalen McDaniels homecoming — sort of
A hip contusion kept Jalen McDaniels out of his first game against his former team, after the Sixers acquired McDaniels from Charlotte as part of a four-team deadline trade.
During a first-quarter timeout, however, McDaniels was shown on the video board with an accompanying “Welcome back, Jalen” graphic. In parts of four seasons with the Hornets, he averaged 7.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.3 assists and was setting career-highs in those three categories (10.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, two assists) in his first 56 games this season before the trade.
McDaniels said following Friday’s shootaround that, while he is moving better, he is unsure if he will be ready to play Saturday at Indiana.
Road-court advantage?
The Hornets are three weeks away from the offseason, meaning Friday’s crowd was not exactly the most rambunctious the Sixers have encountered this season.
An added bonus for the road team: A ton of Sixers fans were in attendance — and made their presence known.
They lined the tunnel during pregame warm-ups. They hollered when Maxey buried a running three-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer. And they unleashed “M-V-P!” chants after Embiid’s massive second-quarter dunk. And they gave Embiid a standing ovation when he went to the bench late in the third.
And as the final seconds ticked off, an “E-A-G-L-E-S, EAGLES!” chant broke out.
