Kemba Walker sure responded emphatically to his worst shooting night of the season.
Walker scored a Hornets-record 60 points Saturday, including a bank-shot 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter. But the Philadelphia 76ers still prevailed 122-119 on Jimmy Butler’s pull-up 3 with three-tenths of a second left in overtime.
Butler, acquired this week in a trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves, blocked two Walker shots in overtime.
Hornets guard Jeremy Lamb drove the lane for a layup with 34 seconds left in overtime, drawing a foul from the Sixers’ Ben Simmons. Lamb made the ensuing free throw to tie the game at 119-119.
On Philadelphia’s next possession, Simmons attempted a lob pass to center Joel Embiid that was intercepted by Hornets center Willy Hernangomez, giving the Hornets the ball with 32 seconds remaining.
Walker, going one-on-one with Butler, pulled up for a jump shot that Butler blocked and redirected to a teammate, giving the Sixers possession with 11 seconds remaining. That set up Butler’s game-winner over the Hornets’ Dwayne Bacon.
Walker broke his own Hornets single-game scoring record of 52. This was also the highest individual scoring game in the NBA this season, topping Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson’s 52 points.
Three who mattered
Walker: Quite a bounce back from Cleveland, by far his worst game of the season.
Joel Embiid: Was just about unstoppable in the first quarter for the 76ers, and finished with 33 points and 11 rebounds.
Lamb: Got some much-needed rebounds in addition to his 20 points.
Observations
▪ Walker was coming off his worst shooting game of this season, 2-of-16 from the field Tuesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was more aggressive driving the ball early and finished the first half with 23 points off 8-of-12 shooting.
▪ Hornets guard Malik Monk, who struggled with his shot throughout a three-game road trip, was the fifth Hornets reserve to be inserted into the game by coach James Borrego.
▪ Sixers guard Jimmy Butler was called for an offensive foul in the third quarter that negated a transition basket. It appeared he hit Walker on the way to the rim.
▪ That was quite a comeback for the Hornets to lead 67-66 midway through the third quarter; they had trailed by as much as 17 points in the first half.
▪ Dwayne Bacon, who played extensively in the game about a week ago in Philadelphia, was again in the Hornets’ rotation Saturday, in part to guard Ben Simmons.
▪ James Borrego was charged with his first technical foul as Hornets coach in the third quarter.
Worth mentioning
▪ The Hornets got back their longtime in-arena announcer, Big Pat, Saturday. He missed the first few home games this season while recovering from an illness.
▪ At halftime, the Hornets honored the 10 players fans voted to the franchise’s all-time team. Walker is the only active player who was chosen.
▪ The Hornets again played without forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who is out with a sprained right ankle.
They said it
“He’s a proven All-Star, not just a a one-dimensional player.” – Hornets coach James Borrego on guard Jimmy Butler, recently acquired by the 76ers in trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
“I put a lot of edits together for him over the years.” – Borrego on his NBA beginnings in the San Antonio Spurs’ video department, when 76ers coach Brett Brown was an assistant coach there.
Report card
C+ OFFENSE: The poor shooting from 3-point range carried over from the loss in Cleveland.
B- DEFENSE: Bounced back from an awful first quarter, holding the Sixers to 2-of-8 shooting to begin the third quarter.
B COACHING: Borrego went with Bacon in the fourth quarter, sitting starter Nic Batum.
76ERS 122, HORNETS 119 (OT)
Philadelphia | Min | FG-A | FT-A | R | F | Pt |
Muscala | 36:46 | 2-8 | 1-1 | 6 | 3 | 6 |
Redick | 29:32 | 9-17 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 23 |
Embiid | 40:07 | 9-23 | 13-14 | 11 | 5 | 33 |
Butler | 37:13 | 4-11 | 6-7 | 3 | 4 | 15 |
Simmons | 39:12 | 7-13 | 9-11 | 11 | 2 | 23 |
Shamet | 23:28 | 2-6 | 0-0 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
Fultz | 19:06 | 3-6 | 0-0 | 6 | 4 | 6 |
Korkmaz | 15:47 | 1-4 | 1-2 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
Chandler | 14:03 | 0-2 | 2-2 | 5 | 1 | 2 |
Johnson | 9:46 | 2-3 | 1-1 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
Totals | 265:00 | 39-93 | 33-38 | 53 | 24 | 122 |
Percentages: FG .419, FT .868. 3-Point Goals: 11-35, .314 (Redick 5-11, Embiid 2-5, Johnson 1-2, Butler 1-3, Shamet 1-4, Muscala 1-6, Chandler 0-2, Korkmaz 0-2). Team Rebounds: 9. Team Turnovers: 19 (19 PTS). Blocked Shots: 6 (Butler 2, Embiid 2, Fultz, Redick). Turnovers: 19 (Butler 4, Embiid 4, Simmons 4, Fultz 3, Johnson 2, Muscala 2). Steals: 9 (Butler 2, Muscala 2, Simmons 2, Embiid, Fultz, Shamet).
Charlotte | Min | FG-A | FT-A | R | F | Pt |
Batum | 18:59 | 0-4 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Williams | 26:42 | 1-3 | 1-2 | 5 | 6 | 4 |
Zeller | 35:28 | 4-8 | 2-2 | 7 | 6 | 10 |
Lamb | 39:45 | 6-18 | 7-7 | 10 | 4 | 20 |
Walker | 45:23 | 21-34 | 12-12 | 7 | 2 | 60 |
Bacon | 28:34 | 4-10 | 0-0 | 6 | 3 | 9 |
Bridges | 26:15 | 4-6 | 0-0 | 4 | 4 | 9 |
Parker | 15:15 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
Hernangomez | 12:45 | 0-5 | 1-2 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
Monk | 11:07 | 0-5 | 2-2 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
Biyombo | 4:47 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Totals | 265:00 | 42-99 | 25-27 | 49 | 29 | 119 |
Percentages: FG .424, FT .926. 3-Point Goals: 10-31, .323 (Walker 6-14, Bridges 1-1, Williams 1-2, Bacon 1-3, Lamb 1-6, Batum 0-1, Hernangomez 0-1, Zeller 0-1, Monk 0-2). Team Rebounds: 7. Team Turnovers: 18 (28 PTS). Blocked Shots: 3 (Batum, Bridges, Williams). Turnovers: 18 (Walker 9, Bridges 3, Monk 2, Batum, Lamb, Parker, Williams). Steals: 10 (Walker 4, Batum, Bridges, Hernangomez, Lamb, Monk, Zeller). Technical Fouls: coach James Borrego, 3:44 third.
Philadelphia | 42 | 21 | 19 | 28 | 12 | — | 122 |
Charlotte | 30 | 26 | 30 | 24 | 9 | — | 119 |
Att.—19,426 (19,077). T—2:45.
Officials—Michael Smith, Zach Zarba, Brett Nansel
