Paul George And Tyrese Maxey’s Hot Night Leads 76ers Past Hornets 121-108
Dec 16, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) drives in during the first half against the Charlotte Hornets at the Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-Imagn Images
The 76ers have the Hornets’; number. In a Monday night matchup with Charlotte, the Philadelphia 76ers picked up their third win of the season versus the Hornets, winning 121-108. Nick Nurses’ squad was once again without star big man Joel Embiid who suffered a sinus fracture in Friday night’s loss to Indiana, as well as rookie Jared McCain who suffered a meniscus injury in the same game.
Tyrese Maxey and Paul George put on a clinic down in The Queen City, with the duo combined for 62 of the 76ers 118 points. Maxey finished with 40 points, five assists, and five rebounds, while George had his first 30-point game of the year, finishing with 33 points, five rebounds, and eight assists. Kelly Oubre Jr. was impressive as well finishing with 19 points and nine rebounds. For the Hornets, Miles Bridges led the way scoring 24 points, six rebounds, and four assists in the loss.
Out of the gate, both teams were ready to score. The 76ers opened things up on a 7-0 run thanks to mid-range jumpers from Oubre and George as well as a three from Maxey. Charlotte responded right away though with eight points of its own thanks to two threes from Brandon Miller and Bridges.
The 76ers responded themselves with a 10-2 run with five points from Maxey, but the Hornets continued to chip away at the deficit thanks to four points from Nick Richards. With the 76ers up 23-20 with under three minutes to play in the first quarter, George drilled a three and KJ Martin knocked down a layup to extend the lead to eight. In the final minute, George drilled another long three, but Isaiah Wong drilled a short jumper to make it 31-23 after 12 minutes of play.
In the second quarter, Maxey and Bridges both drilled shots in the first minute, however, both teams then went over three minutes without knocking down a shot. Oubre and Maxey ended that run with back-to-back makes, but Bridges answered with a huge slam dunk.
George continued his impressive start to the game with a driving layup, but four points from Richards and a three for Cody Martin made it a six-point game. As the final minutes of the first half ticked down, the threes started to drop for Philadelphia. One by George and two by Maxey extended the 76ers lead to 12. However, the Hornets rallied back scoring seven points in just over 30 seconds to cut their deficit to five heading into the half down 54-49.
At the start of the second half, the 76ers started out hot with seven straight points, but the Hornets answered back with a three from LaMelo Ball and an and-one layup from Bridges. Back-and-forth the two teams went with George knocking down a shot and then Miller answering with a three and then Andre Drummond contributed with five points of his own.
The three’s continued to drop for Philadelphia, with Maxey and George both hitting three and Eric Gordon joining the fun with three triples of his own to break the game open. The 76ers continued adding to their lead thanks to free throws from Ricky Council IV and Oubre and after it was all said and done, it was a 24-10 run for Philadelphia as they took a 95-79 lead into the fourth quarter.
With 12 minutes left to play, the Hornets began to mount a comeback. Josh Green who only made one shot before the start of the fourth, knocked down a pair of threes and a short layup to cut the down to six. Oubre and Miller traded twos, but a layup by Wong made it 97-93. After a bucket from Bridges and a few free throws from the 76ers, Oubre knocked down a huge three to get the lead back up to eight.
As the teams entered the final five minutes of action, George continued to add on to his big night. He drilled a long three to cross 30 points for the first time all season and added three more points to an and-on layup and free throw. Up 13 with under three minutes to play, the 76ers were able to stop the Hornets’ offensive attack and pulled out the 121-108 win.
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Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He has now covered the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
