Many NBA teams are vying for playoff positioning as the regular season winds down and the postseason approaches. And the surging Philadelphia 76ers will play the Hornets in Charlotte on Friday night.
Philadelphia has won six in a row, cutting their deficit to one game in the Eastern Conference standings with Boston. Meanwhile, Charlotte has dropped three straight and is already thinking about next year. At 7 PM, the tap will be turned on for the first time that evening.
Update Injury for Philadelphia 76ers and Charlotte Hornets
The Philadelphia 76ers are playing their best basketball at the right time, despite having the toughest schedule of any playoff contender in the final third of the season.
The Sixers have won six straight games and eight of their last ten, including a 118-109 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.
In a late push of his own, Joel Embiid scored 36 points and grabbed 18 rebounds for the winning team. While James Harden scored 28 points, Tyrese Maxey added 23, and the game ended in a controversial victory.
Embiid thought he had fouled out with just over four minutes left, but the call was overturned after a coach challenged it, much to the dismay of the Cleveland crowd.
The big man had already scored 30 or more points in six consecutive games heading into Wednesday’s matchup against Cleveland. The Cavaliers had no answer for “The Process,” and Embiid was a game-changer from the get-go.
Embiid is on pace to finish with career highs in points per game (33.5) and field-goal percentage (54.1 percent).
Meanwhile, James Harden scored 28 points (8-18 FG, 3-9 3Pt, 9-12 FT), dished out 12 assists, pulled down 6 rebounds, and stole 3 bases.
Harden has maintained his high value despite his role reversal from scoring leader to NBA assist leader in his two years with the 76ers.
After 10 games, he has averaged 23.9 points, 10.9 assists, 6.5 rebounds, 3.4 three-pointers, and 1.1 steals per game, and he recorded his sixth double-double of the season on Wednesday.
Injuries: PF Jalen McDaniels is day-to-day.
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With only 22 wins this season, the Charlotte Hornets are destined for the NBA Lottery in the spring. The recent injury to all-star LaMelo Ball, who will miss the rest of the season due to rehabilitation, capped off a difficult year for the Hornets on and off the court.
The Hornets lost 120-104 on the road to a depleted Cleveland squad on Tuesday night. Charlotte has now lost three straight games, bringing their home record to an already dismal 11-27 on the season.
Injuries: LaMelo Ball (ankle) out for season.
