Despite Paul George’s historic performance, the Charlotte Hornets nearly defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in the fourth quarter. The game ended 121-108, giving the Sixers a much-needed victory. The away team missed their crucial players against the Hornets, but the team triumphed thanks to George’s performance.
Paul’s Performance Against the Hornets
The Philadelphia 76ers haven’t had a good season so far. Yet George once again proved his worth to the Philly team. On Monday night, his performance against the Charlotte Hornets put the 76ers in the winning category. Before George joined the Sixers, Joel Embiid endorsed him as the third star Philly needs whenever he’s out of the roster due to his injury history.
Thus, George fulfilled his duty with Tyrese Maxey on his side to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to their eighth win this season. In the first quarter, the All-Star forward dropped 15 points to put the Sixers ahead in the game. With good shot selection in the quarter, George was setting up his teammates for success, especially Tyrese Maxey.
The Sixers’ Second Half Struggle
The Philadelphia 76ers blew a 21-point lead in the game’s second half. Less than two minutes before the end of the third quarter, the Sixers were ahead 93-for-72. Yet, the Charlotte Hornets went on a 21-4 run to reduce the Sixers’ lead to four points. Thus, the away team nearly destroyed their effort in the fourth quarter.
The Hornets run featured Mile Bridges, Cody Martin, and Josh Green. Also, only Ricky Council IV and Kelly Oubre Jr. had points in this Hornet’s run. The Sixers team had more turnovers, less perimeter defense, and offensive power. Two minutes into the fourth quarter, Kyle Lowry came in for Tyrese Maxey. So, the guards on the floor were Lowry and Eric Gordon.
The Sixers struggled due to the lack of depth on their roster. The team had injuries to their main players: Joel Embiid and Jared McCain. Embiid had a face injury from his last match against the Pacers, and McCain had a meniscus injury. Also, Coach Nurse didn’t play some of the younger players on the roster to compete with the Hornets’ athleticism.
George Makes NBA History
George has been a lethal weapon on any NBA team he has played for. When the All-NBA forward was 24 years old, his shooting ability from deep was below average—imagine shooting 29% from the shooting guard position. However, as he progressed in his career, George improved tremendously within 10 years.
During the second quarter, he dropped five points after his 15-point performance in the first. Thus, George had 20 points to finish the first half. The time was two and a half minutes to the end of the second quarter when the All-Star forward drilled his 2283rd three-pointer to land in the top 10 in the all-time three-pointers made leaderboard.
Guerschon Yabusele helped George achieve this feat. PG passed Jason Terry with 2285 three-pointers in 881 regular games to become the 10th player with the most three-pointers. Above George is Vince Carter, who has scored 2290 three points in his career. Therefore, the nine-time All-Star needs six three-pointers to become the ninth-all-time three-point leader and solidify his position.
Final Thoughts
The Sixers are 8-for-16 in 24 games. So, if the current roster remains healthy, the team has a chance to make the play-in tournament. Paul George had a career-high in the Sixers jersey with 33 points. The All-Star forward also dished eight dimes and grabbed five boards. Also, he combined with Maxey to give the team 73 points. George and Maxey slowly developed their one-two-punch chemistry on the court. Let’s see if this performance lasts for a while.
