By Teddy Brenner
Gordon Hayward made his first nine shots and scored 30 points and the Charlotte Hornets beat the Sixers 109-98 to snap a 16-game losing streak in the series.
The Hornets hadn’t won against the Sixers since Nov. 2, 2016 and held the longest active losing streak to one team in the NBA.
Hayward came out firing with a 9 of 9 first half — that included four 3-pointers — for 22 points that put the Hornets up 14 at the break. Hayward, who averaged 17 points, became the fourth Hornets player to score 20 points in the first half since the 1996-97 season.
Terry Rozier scored 22 points for the Hornets and Miles Bridges added 21.
Joel Embiid scored 31 points for the fifth straight game and the Sixers’ seven-game winning streak ended.
His recent stretch is one of the best in team history, joining Allen Iverson and Wilt Chamberlain as the only Sixers to score 30-plus points in eight straight games. Embiid made 10 of 17 shots and 10 of 14 free throws against the Hornets.
Embiid, though, can’t carry the Sixers alone and the franchise is still at a stalemate with All-Star guard Ben Simmons. Embiid picked up his fifth foul with 3:45 left in the third and the Hornets ended the quarter up 85-76.
“It starts with me. I wasn’t good enough,” Embiid said.
With a losing streak to the Sixers stretching more than five years, the Hornets, coming off two straight wins against Milwaukee, instead showed why they might be a team on the rise in the Eastern Conference.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a message. We just have to continue to get better,” Bridges said. “These are three good wins against three good teams but we still haven’t done anything yet.”
Tobias Harris hit a 3 that brought the Sixers within eight only for Rozier to come right back and hit one for the Hornets. Bridges buried Charlotte’s ninth 3 to stretch the lead — and put that losing streak to rest.
