PHILADELPHIA — Tyrese Maxey shook off a bloody nose caused by Brandon Miller’s flagrant foul to score 30 points, Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 22 and the Phladelphia 76ers withstood a fourth-quarter charge to beat the Charlotte Hornets 109-98 Saturday night. .
“I’m good,” Maxey said of the second-quarter hit. “I tell everyone I’m a soldier, so that’s how it is. But I’m still going to take UFC classes.
Buddy Hield had 14 points and Paul Reed added 11 for the 76ers (37-30), who have struggled with an 8-13 record since Joel Embiid’s meniscus injury in late January to fall to seventh place of the Eastern Conference after Saturday evening. , putting them in danger of having to participate in the play-in tournament.
“I thought Buddy kept us going for stretches in the second half,” Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse said. “He got some good spots and looked good. We only scored 109 points, but I thought the offense was really good.”
Tre Mann scored 21 points, Davis Bertans 16 and Miles Bridges added 14 as six players scored in double figures for Charlotte (17-51), which has lost six in a row to Philadelphia and nine of its last 12 overall .
“We were there with three and a half minutes to go,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. “We had a couple of failed sets where we were a little disorganized, but we came back into the game and I would say we played well for about 43 minutes. In the second quarter we had a few minutes where the ball didn’t touch the paint and we made some decent shots and put a lot of pressure on the defense.
The Hornets trailed for most of the night, but took an 89-88 lead after two Bridges free throws capped an 18-9 run with about five minutes remaining. After that point, Maxey and Oubre took control on the offensive end, driving to the basket and breaking through the Hornets’ defense.
“It usually comes down to shots and stops,” Nurse said. “We were able to do both back-to-back there in the last three minutes of the game. We made some good shots, got an and-one and got to the foul line at the end of the game. And then we were good enough defensively to make a few stops there at the end of the game.
Without Embiid, the Sixers struggled to close out games, with most of the burden falling on Maxey, the guard who made his first All-Star team.
“I have to be aggressive and find a way to get my teammates involved as well,” Maxey said. “I have to tell them to take the shots they have and continue to be aggressive in all four quarters. There were several times in the fourth quarter (without Embiid) where I couldn’t close out the game because I had a lot of energy in the first three quarters. Now I have to find a way to be the best player I can be for all 48 minutes.
Philadelphia was also without power forward Tobias Harris, who was sidelined with a left ankle injury suffered Thursday night in a 114-105 loss at Milwaukee.
Charlotte played the second half without Miller, the No. 2 pick in the draft, who was ejected following a Flagrant 2 in the second quarter for an elbow that hit Maxey’s head on the offensive end of the court. Miller finished with six points and three fouls in 15 minutes.
Maxey later said he “knew Brandon Miller didn’t do that on purpose.”
NEXT Hornets: at Orlando Tuesday night
76ers: host Miami Monday night
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