Maxey and a 15-3 closing run lift 76ers past Charlotte without LeBron or Embiid

Philadelphia had rested LeBron James and Joel Embiid, the day after a 98-93 win over New York in the NBA Cup. The sell-out crowd of 19,533 at the Spectrum Center therefore saw a reshuffled side, with Jaylen Brown a doubt until tip-off, then starting and scoring 16 points. Above all, they saw Maxey take the game over when everything seemed lost.

Charlotte were also playing for the second night running, without Coby White (calf) or Kon Knueppel (hamstring). The Hornets led for most of the game and watched the win slip away over six scoreless possessions.

A 13-0 run gets Charlotte going

The 76ers opened with a 15-10 lead after a Maxey lay-up at 8 min 04, then fizzled out. Brandon Miller driving, Naz Reid at the line, Grayson Allen from three and on the turnaround, two dunks from Ryan Kalkbrenner, one of them an alley-oop: 13-0 to Charlotte, 23-15 with 3 min 48 left. Allen added two more threes before the end of the quarter, which the Hornets won 37-27.

Philadelphia responded with an 8-0 run after the restart, Jabari Walker twice, Brown and Dean Wade, 35-37 with 8 min 54 left, then took the lead for the first time at 46-44 on a Maxey floater. A long three from Allen, from eleven metres, cut Charlotte's deficit to one, but Anfernee Simons restored a three-point cushion for the Sixers at the line: 57-54 at the break, after a second quarter won 30-17.

Charlotte take back control

Miller levelled at 57-57 straight away, and the third quarter went the Hornets' way, 29-20. Moussa Diabaté finished an alley-oop fed by Miller, Reid and Dennis Schröder scored near the rim, Sion James dunked: 83-77 at the end of the quarter, after a Diabaté tip-in thirty seconds from the buzzer. Tidjane Salaün dunked to open the final period, 85-77.

With 5 minutes left, Miller blocked VJ Edgecombe, then fed Diabaté for a pick-and-roll dunk: 97-90. At 3 min 41, Allen's seventh three made it 101-94.

Six possessions without a point

The game turned on what followed. Simons answered with a three, Maxey added a free throw, Simons scored driving at 2 min 17: 100-101. Charlotte then strung together three fruitless attacks, including two Schröder drives blocked by Edgecombe and Wade. Diabaté did turn away an attempt from Maxey, but the Sixers' point guard won two free throws and made them at 1 min 22: 102-101, the last time the lead changed hands.

Edgecombe hit a kick-out three with 36 seconds left, 105-101. Sion James missed an uncontested lay-up with 24 seconds left, Maxey added two free throws, Miller cut the gap to three at 6.5 seconds, and Brown sealed the score at the line.

Men of the match

Maxey made 13 of his 23 shots, 4 of 9 from deep and 8 of 9 at the line, for 38 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals in 38 minutes. Simons contributed 19 points in 25 minutes off the bench, 5 of 9 behind the arc. Brown finished with 16 points, 6 of 15, and Wade dished 10 assists to go with 4 points. Edgecombe grabbed 8 rebounds and scored 10 points, including the biggest shot of the night. Adem Bona, the Nigerian centre, played 22 minutes for 2 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.

For the Hornets, Allen scored 27 points off the bench, 9 of 12 from the field, 7 of 10 from three. Miller finished with 24 points, 8 of 20, 5 threes from 12, with 5 assists and 2 steals. Frenchman Diabaté was the most efficient starter: 5 of 5 from the field, 10 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks in 28 minutes. Reid scored 14 points on 4 of 12, 0 of 6 from deep. Schröder had a nightmare evening: 1 of 11, 4 points, 4 turnovers, with 7 assists.

Three takeaways

The 76ers have depth few teams possess. Without their two stars, they field a 38-point scorer, a shooter with five threes off the bench and a 6-1 record. Their long-range shooting, 14 of 35, made up for a poor night at the line, 15 of 23.

Charlotte lost the game on turnovers. 18 turnovers to Philadelphia's 8. In a one-possession finish, that is the gap that counts. The Hornets nonetheless shot 50% and grabbed 38 rebounds to 36.

Diabaté establishes himself as a starter. Five shots, five makes, eight rebounds, two blocks and a decisive dunk to give his side a seven-point lead. The French big man had already made the difference against Washington this week. His efficiency near the rim has become a reference point for Charles Lee.

The SNA view

A game decided over six possessions is won on composure, and that is where the gap between the two sides showed. Philadelphia entrusted every possession to Maxey or Simons and defended every drive with a block. Charlotte, meanwhile, went looking for Schröder on the drive twice in the last two minutes when he was 1 of 11, while Allen, 7 of 10 from deep, waited in the corner. The bench's decision weighs as much as the players' talent, and Charles Lee knows it. This defeat says nothing bad about the Hornets, who led most of the game without two starters. It says they do not yet have the instinct for the final play.

What's next

Philadelphia, 6-1, host Chicago on the night of Monday to Tuesday, at 1:30 Brazzaville time. Charlotte, 3-4, welcome Detroit at the same time.