Philadelphia 76ers rally in the second half to beat New Orleans Hornets – NBA Recap Part 2
Philadelphia 76ers looked like a team possessed after the break as they stormed out with an 8 – 2 run to level the scores at 48 – 48. It was then New Orleans Hornets turn to streak, 6 – 2, and wrest back the initiative. Similar
skirmishes continued throughout the period but the Hornets were able at the end to hold Philadelphia off and head into the penultimate period leading 73 – 67.
A scorching 9 – 2 start to the final quarter by Philadelphia put the Hornets on the back foot. New Orleans hit back to reclaim the advantage but the Sixers had found their groove and weren’t in a mood to show mercy. They piled
on the points, with one 9 – 0 run beginning near the half way mark to get them ahead again.
Just when the Hornets were running out of steam, Jrue Holiday found his range and drilled in a dew huge shots that broke the resolve of New Orleans and silenced their crowd. The 7 – 2 run at the end meant that Carl Landry’s shot
at the death was pretty meaningless and the game ended 101 – 93 to Philadelphia.
The teams were pretty evenly matched during the game and Philadelphia’s surge in the end proved to be the real difference. The Hornets shot 44.3 percent from the field and 30 percent from the three point line. In contrast, the
76ers were 47.7 percent from the field but only 25 percent from beyond the arc. The teams had 21 and 22 assists, while the Hornets edged rebounding 42 to 38.
Sixers head coach Doug Collins praised Evan Turner after the game for his big 21 point performance off the bench.
"I pointed to Pistol Pete (Maravich's jersey number hanging from the New Orleans Arena's rafters) and told him, 'You're in front of my guy tonight. So play your a*s off.' And he did."
The loss didn’t go down well with New Orleans, who were more than just in the game until the fourth quarter.
"They're frustrated," New Orleans coach Monty Williams said regarding his players. "They're competitors and it didn't go our way tonight. Philadelphia had a lot to do with that."
The Hornets have started a new chapter after trading away Chris Paul and one of the players emerging in a lead role for the side is new comer Eric Gordon. He had a great game in terms of personal contributions but wasn’t pleased
to be at the losing end and said the young side had no one but themselves to blame.
"We had too many lapses on defense, and we bailed them out by taking too many jump shots," Gordon said. "We didn't attack the rim. That's where we're best. We just have to take it to the rim."
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