Playing with more purpose and balance right from the get-go gave the Charlotte Hornets a chance on Friday night in Philadelphia. A so-so second-half offense and too many late misses on the defensive glass wiped away their hopes in a 121-114 road loss to the 76ers.
The biggest silver lining was the scoring for Charlotte, which had failed to crack 100 points in each of its past four games for the first time since 2015. Playing the second night of a back-to-back on the road against a Philadelphia team that had been off since Tuesday probably also factored into the loss, as did losing both Seth Curry and Cody Martin to ankle injuries.