By Skip Charles in Vegas
The Sixers and the Charlotte Hornets tee it up again tonight.
And Sixers fans have been savoring Monday night’s OT win in Charlotte.
Joel Embiid had a season-high 43 points in the 127-124 overtime victory.
The Hornets are trying to recover from more than just the result. They were down five players because of COVID-19 protocols, so this is a taxing stretch. They’ll be in their third game in four nights.
The potential fatigue aside, just dealing with Embiid is enough of a challenge.
“The way that he impacts the game offensively,” teammate Tobias Harris said. “He’s a shot maker. He’s the guy that we go to when we need a bucket and he delivers for us. … We just rely heavily on his presence.”
But the toll on Embiid could be heavy. He logged 41 minutes in that game, pushing his team high season averages to 23.9 points and 11.3 rebounds per game.
Harris also played 41 minutes, getting 21 points and 11 rebounds. That would qualify as a grueling performance for Harris, who missed games earlier in the season because of COVID-19 protocols and then sat out the previous game Friday night because of illness.
“Obviously there has been ups and downs for me the past month,” said Harris, who’s the team’s second-leading scorer with 19.3 points per game.
The Hornets have played their past two games without starters LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier and Mason Plumlee, and reserve Jalen McDaniels. Then guard Ish Smith was added to the protocol list for Monday’s game.
| 7:00 PM ET, WED DEC 8 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| SIXERS CHR | -6.5 +6.5 | | 217.5 |
| 7:00 PM ET, WED DEC 8 | |||
| CHI CLE | +2.5 -2.5 | 63% 37% | 210.5 |
| 7:00 PM ET, WED DEC 8 | |||
| WAS DET | -5.5 +5.5 | | 208.5 |
| 7:00 PM ET, WED DEC 8 | |||
| NY IND | +4.5 -4.5 | 53% 47% | 212.5 |
