Another big night from Joel Embiid helps the Sixers dominate the Hornets, extend winning streak to seven games

CHARLOTTE — James Harden misfired from beyond the arc about midway through Friday’s third quarter, but tracked the ball down for the offensive rebound and kicked out to Tobias Harris.

Harris also missed from deep, before Harden again collected the ball and dished to Tyrese Maxey. Maxey also could not connect from long range, but Joel Embiid secured the rebound and — mercifully — the easy putback that put the Sixers up by 24 points.

That 19-second sequence against the overmatched Charlotte Hornets epitomized a night when a Sixers team that typically struggles on the glass dominated the rebounding category, 62-35. And that onslaught, combined with another huge night from Embiid along with stingy defense, clinched a commanding 121-82 victory at the Spectrum Center to extend their winning streak to seven games.

“[The Hornets are] struggling a little bit, and we just attacked,” coach Doc Rivers said. “Having a game [Saturday], it’s just good to get the game over with and be healthy. ... There is no guarantee each night how you’re going to play, but there is a guarantee how you can show up. And we’re showing up every night.”

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The outcome moved the Sixers (47-22) within a half-game of the Boston Celtics (48-22) for second place in the East, and kept them four games ahead of the fourth-place Cleveland Cavaliers (45-28). And it was the latest example of a “professional victory,” a term Rivers has used throughout the season to describe solid-to-great performances against inferior on-paper opponents. The loss was the Hornets’ fourth in a row, and dropped them to 22-50.

The Sixers initially created distance in the second quarter, outscoring the Hornets, 35-25, to lead by as many as 15 points. That advantage ballooned to 75-54 with a 9-0 burst to begin the third quarter, including a breakaway dunk by Harris at the 9-minute, 38-second mark. They eventually created a 42-point cushion, by holding the Hornets to 33.7% shooting (5-of-35 from three-point distance) and 28 points in the second half.

“Any time we’ve got that energy out there defensively, that always helps,” Harris said. “That pop, that communication, I thought we did a good job of that.”

Embiid, an MVP contender, finished with 38 points on 16-of-21 shooting, 13 rebounds, five assists, and four blocks without playing in the fourth quarter. Harris overcame early foul trouble to finish with 18 points on an efficient 7-of-11 from the floor and five rebounds. Harden struggled from the floor (4-of-15), but manufactured his fifth triple-double of the season, with 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists.

The Sixers will conclude this three-game road trip Saturday at the Indiana Pacers, a team they are 3-0 against this season and last topped, 147-143, on March 6. They will then return home for one game against the Chicago Bulls on Monday, before hitting the road again for four games against the Bulls (Wednesday), Golden State Warriors (next Friday), Phoenix Suns (March 25), and Denver Nuggets (March 27).

Charlotte coach Steve Clifford was asked before Friday’s game how, after Embiid dropped 53 points on his team in their last meeting in December, the Hornets could attempt to slow the big man down.

But no scheme or individual matchup worked against the NBA’s leading scorer and focused defender. Embiid is averaging 36.8 points over his last eight games, and has at least three blocks in five consecutive outings.

Embiid converted shots through contact on consecutive possessions, including a wildly improbable high flip into the basket as he fell to the floor. He sank an array of jumpers and hook shots. He threw down a thunderous one-handed slam, which put the Sixers up, 55-45, late in the second quarter. After missing three of his first four shots, he made nine of his next 10 from the floor for 24 first-half points.

After the break, two consecutive buckets ignited the Sixers’ surge that turned the game into a rout. Later, Embiid got the Sixers’ bench players on their feet with a monstrous block on Kai Jones. And when a jumper through contact bounced high into the air and somehow dropped through the net, Embiid swung his arm down in the “and-1″ motion. He made six of his seven attempts in the third quarter, earning his rest down the stretch.

“He’s making the right passes. He’s including his teammates. He’s not forcing anything,” Rivers said of Embiid. “It’s all coming to him out of the flow. It’s coming to him organically [and] naturally. And then defensively, he’s just been dominant.”

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A hip contusion kept Jalen McDaniels out of his first game against his former team, after the Sixers acquired McDaniels from Charlotte as part of a four-team deadline trade.

During a first-quarter timeout, however, McDaniels was shown on the video board with an accompanying “Welcome back, Jalen” graphic. In parts of four seasons with the Hornets, the versatile wing averaged 7.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.3 assists and was setting career-highs in those three categories (10.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, two assists) in his first 56 games this season before the trade.

McDaniels said following Friday’s shootaround that, while he is moving better, he is unsure if he will be ready to play Saturday at Indiana.

It also was a homecoming for second-year guard Jaden Springer, who is from Charlotte and played on the Spectrum Center floor for the first time as an NBA player. He joined the Sixers from the G League’s Delaware Blue Coats in order to play in front of family and friends on Friday.

The struggling Hornets are three weeks away from the offseason, meaning Friday’s crowd was not exactly the most rambunctious the Sixers have encountered this season.

An added bonus for the road team: A ton of Sixers fans were in attendance — and made their presence known.

They lined the tunnel with jerseys and signs during pregame warm-ups. They hollered when Maxey banked in a running three-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer. They chanted “M-V-P!” after Embiid’s massive second-quarter dunk. They gave the big man a standing ovation when he checked out for the final time late in the third.

And as the final seconds ticked off, an “E-A-G-L-E-S, EAGLES!” chant broke out.

“You love your home crowd, but you love when you’re on the road and you see the jerseys and the noise,” Rivers said. “ … Because you have to go through stuff to show up on the road. You have to hear it [from the home fans]. You got to get tickets somehow. It’s an effort, so that was cool.”