76ers 101, Hornets 93
Jrue Holiday scored 14 of his 23 points in the final quarter to help spoil Eric Gordon’s return to the lineup as the Philadelphia 76ers posted a 101-93 victory over the host New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday.
Evan Turner scored 21 points and Spencer Hawes added 17 points as Philadelphia finished 3-2 on its season-opening, five-game road trip.
Gordon returned from a four-game absence due to a knee injury to score 22 points but couldn’t prevent New Orleans (2-4) from losing its fourth straight game.
Philadelphia rallied from a 14-point, second-quarter deficit and trailed by six points after three quarters before turning its game up a notch and scoring 34 final-quarter points.
The 76ers used a 9-0 run to take the lead, capped by Holiday’s 3-pointer for an 89-83 lead with 4:18 to play. Holiday’s final basket gave the 76ers a 98-89 lead with 36.6 seconds remaining.
Gordon was playing in New Orleans for the first time since being acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers as part of the return for point guard Chris Paul. He knocked down the game-winning shot with 4.2 seconds left in the season-opening win in Phoenix but bruised his right knee in the contest.
Carl Landry scored 21 points and Jarrett Jack had 19 points and 11 assists for the Hornets.