Hornets 119, 76ers 99
PHILADELPHIA -- Kemba Walker scored 30 points, nine in a pivotal second-half run, as the Charlotte Hornets beat the Philadelphia 76ers 119-99 on Wednesday night.
Cody Zeller added 15 points and four blocked shots, and Marvin Williams contributed 14 points and nine rebounds for the Hornets, who won for the eighth time in 10 games to improve to 32-28, the sixth-best record in the Eastern Conference.
Jeremy Lin also scored 14 for Charlotte, which has won six of its past eight road and eight games of its past 10 meetings with Philadelphia, the NBA's worst team at 8-53.
Isaiah Canaan, Nerlens Noel and Robert Covington had 17 points each to lead the Sixers, who lost their 10th straight. Philadelphia, which earlier this season had losing streaks of 18 and 12 games, became the first team to have three skids of 10 games or more in a single season since the New Jersey Nets in 2009-10.
The Sixers, who were without Jahlil Okafor (bruised right shin) for the second consecutive game, led 70-67 with 4:24 left in the third quarter. Charlotte then rattled off 20 of the game's next 24 points, nine of those by Walker, to go up 87-74 with 10:40 remaining in the game.
The Hornets led by as many as 23 down the stretch.
The game was tied eight times in the first half, and Charlotte was up just 52-50 with 2:36 left in the second quarter before scoring the last six points of the half and the first six of the second half to go up 64-50.
Zeller, who earlier in the period dunked on consecutive possessions, began that run with two free throws after drawing a foul from Noel with 2:18 left. Zeller fell awkwardly into Noel on the play, leaving both players sprawled on the floor, and Noel left the game with a bruised right knee. He returned in the second half.
The Sixers answered with a 20-3 burst that included 3-pointers by Covington, Ish Smith and Canaan, putting them ahead 70-67.
NOTES: Hornets C Al Jefferson played just his seventh game since missing 23 after undergoing surgery to repair a torn right lateral meniscus. It was also the first time he played on consecutive nights since his return. He scored six points in 19 minutes. "This is really October for him," coach Steve Clifford said. "His ability to pivot on his leg, I think, is his best since his first year here. His mobility is good. It's just really his conditioning and his timing." ... The Sixers honored their late, legendary statistician, Harvey Pollack, on the 54th anniversary of Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game. "You were just sort of amazed at the passion and the history that he represents," coach Brett Brown said of Pollack, who died last June 23 at age 93.