76ers at Hornets
The Philadelphia 76ers are sitting in the No. 3 spot in the Eastern Conference and are coming off a big win after knocking off the NBA-best Milwaukee Bucks on the road Sunday. The 76ers, who clinched a playoff spot with the win, will try to stay sharp when they close out the two-game trip by visiting the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday.
Philadelphia weathered a career-high 52 points from superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo and leaned on their own stars in earning the 130-125 victory over the Bucks. All-Star center Joel Embiid collected 40 points, 15 rebounds and six assists while Jimmy Butler added 27 points and Ben Simmons flirted with a triple-double in the victory. The Hornets are fighting for the No. 8 spot in the East and suffered a tough blow with a 93-75 loss at the eighth-place Miami Heat on Sunday, in which they were outscored 32-15 in the final quarter. "In the fourth quarter, we couldn't make a shot," Hornets coach James Borrego told reporters. "I thought our guys battled. We gave ourselves a chance defensively going into the fourth. (Miami) was 6-of-8 from three in the fourth quarter. We were 0-of-8 from three. Give them credit. They played well, guarded us fairly well. We couldn't make shots."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBCS Philadelphia, FS Southeast (Charlotte)
ABOUT THE 76ERS (45-25): Philadelphia's new-look starting five of Tobias Harris, Embiid, Simmons, Butler and JJ Redick combined to shoot 52.8 percent from the floor on Sunday and the team believes its talent stacks up against any other team. "We're here to compete," Simmons told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "We can compete with the best. I think (general manager Elton Brand) has done a great job of putting us all together. Obviously, coach (Brett) Brown and the coaching staff are going a good job. It's fun." Simmons was the low scorer of the five on Sunday, finishing with eight points to go along with nine rebounds and nine assists.
ABOUT THE HORNETS (31-38): Charlotte fell two games behind the Heat with Sunday's setback and owns a challenging schedule the rest of the way with games still to play against Toronto (two), Boston, San Antonio, Golden State, Utah and Detroit in addition to the 76ers. The Hornets, who finished up a 1-3 road trip with Sunday's loss, lean heavily on All-Star guard Kemba Walker but watched the 28-year-old struggle to 10 points on 4-of-16 shooting in against the Heat. Walker was part of a 31.3 percent shooting effort in the loss for Charlotte, including 7-of-36 from 3-point range.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Hornets PF Marvin Williams is 4-of-25 from the floor over his last three games, including 1-of-11 from 3-point range.
2. 76ers SG JJ Redick is 15-of-26 from 3-point range over the last four games.
3. Philadelphia took the first three meetings by a total of six points.