The Philadelphia 76ers are coming off a pretty big high as they head into the second game of a back-to-back set on Saturday against the host Charlotte Hornets.
Behind newcomer LeBron James, the 76ers claimed a 98-93 home victory against the reigning NBA champion New York Knicks on Friday.
“We’re just trying to prove something to ourselves,” said James, who sank two clutch shots in the final 70 seconds.
Tyrese Maxey scored 27 points, Anfernee Simons added 21 off the bench and James provided 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for Philadelphia, which shot 49.3% from the field while improving to 5-1.
Maxey said postgame that James provides a “calming presence. … He’ll get a lot of rebounds, maybe come get the ball, calm it down. He’s great. And he’s someone, at the end of the day, he’s LeBron James. He can do stuff like he did tonight.”
The 76ers won without reaching the 100-point mark for the first time this season. They are averaging 108.7 points per game, the fifth-lowest figure in the NBA, but well ahead of the last-place team, Charlotte, which is managing just 97.3 points per contest.
Some potential sources of offense seem to be drying up for the Hornets, who struggled to find production for the second game in a row when they lost 95-79 to the host Washington Wizards on Friday.
Brandon Miller led the Hornets in scoring for the fourth game in a row, but unlike his three straight games with more than 30 points, this time he managed only 19. He shot 7-for-24 from the floor.
A shooting rate of 29.7% sank Charlotte.
“Overall, I think we created some really good looks for ourselves with the pace that we played,” Hornets coach Charles Lee said. “I think the process on both ends of the floor is going to result in something different down the line.”
Lee was encouraged by the last couple outings despite the unwanted results. He pointed to a reduction in turnovers from 25 in a 97-89 loss at Detroit on Wednesday to 12 in the defeat at Washington two nights later. He also was pleased that the Hornets had 29 more field-goal attempts than the Wizards.
“I feel like the competitive spirit, and the process defensively is in a good spot,” Lee said. “We did give up 35 free throws (Friday), so we got to be a little bit smarter in how we’re executing some of our physicality.”
Philadelphia goes into the Saturday game with uncertainty about the status of one of its stars. Jaylen Brown didn’t play Friday after initially being listed as questionable due to an ailing left knee. He is expected back soon.
“He reported soreness after the (Wednesday) game in Indy,” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said. “Wasn’t able to go through shootaround today. … We want him out there, right? I just know he wasn’t able to play (Friday).”
Without Brown, the 76ers had Dean Wade in the starting lineup vs. the Knicks. He played 27 minutes and didn’t score. There was speculation that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope might receive more playing time off the bench, but he matched his season-low minutes total (21) and scored five points.
With games on back-to-back nights, it also is unclear whether James and veteran center Joel Embiid will be on the court for the 76ers in Charlotte.
The 76ers have won both of their road games so far, beating the Knicks in their season opener and then topping the Pacers.
Philadelphia defeated Charlotte in two of three meetings last season, with the Hornets’ home victory in January ending the 76ers’ 11-game winning streak in the series.
