After a record-smashing performance Wednesday, the Philadelphia 76ers visit the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday with both teams striving to gain ground in the Eastern Conference playoff chase.
Philadelphia (40-33) was at full power against the Chicago Bulls with the return of Paul George from a 25-game suspension and Joel Embiid from an oblique injury, and it was one of the most impressive performances in the league this season.
The Sixers scored 157 points, their most in a single game since 1970. They made 22 3-pointers, tying the fourth-most in franchise history and the most ever in a home game. They became the first NBA team in history with 157 points while committing single-digit turnovers (eight).
Embiid had 35 points and George had 28 in the 157-137 victory. Afterwards, George proclaimed himself good to go for the stretch run.
“We’re going to definitely attack it one game at a time, but I want to play all of these,” George said, “(to) give us the best chance to get a good seed, good positioning. So, yeah, if my body is still feeling how I expect it to feel, absolutely.”
“Just some time,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said when asked what George needed to be ready. “It was good. I just think we needed to get him some open looks and kind of everybody knew he was going to shoot them when he came off the screens and things, and that probably helped him get going.”
Six teams in the Eastern Conference playoff race, currently occupying seeds 5-10, are separated by just two games entering Friday’s action. The Sixers are in seventh, one game behind red-hot Atlanta for fifth.
Charlotte (39-34) is also in that group of six. The Hornets have the longest playoff drought in the NBA dating back to the 2015-16 season, but they did qualify for the play-in tournament in 2021 and 2022.
The Hornets have been one of the big surprises in the NBA this season. They’ve won five in a row and seven of their last eight. They lead the NBA in made threes per game (16.3) and are third in 3-point percentage (38.2).
Rookie Kon Knueppel continues to add to his case to be NBA Rookie of the Year. He had 26 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and six threes Thursday to lead Charlotte past the New York Knicks 114-103.
“I think sometimes he gets labeled as just a shooter, but we feel his impact in so many different ways,” Hornets coach Charles Lee said about his rookie star. “He’s helping us on the boards with his physicality and then offensively he definitely adds gravity for our offense so that we do have more driving lanes.”
Lee cautioned that his team isn’t looking at the playoff standings just yet. In its remaining nine games, the Hornets still have to play the Boston Celtics twice, and the Detroit Pistons and Knicks once apiece.
“I think we’re less about trying to make a statement and we’re really just worried about self-improvement, the daily improvement, every day,” Lee said.
This will be the teams’ final meeting in the regular season (although meeting in the play-in remains a possibility). The Sixers won the first meeting 125-121 on Oct. 25, while the Hornets won 130-93 on Jan. 26.
