Sixers
Sixers aim for 10th straight win in Easter matinee with Hornets
Published01 Apr 2018
By Josh Liddick, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Tip-off: 1:00 pm ❖ Location: Charlotte, NC ❖ TV: NBCSP ❖ Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Looking for their 10th win in a row, the Philadelphia 76ers are set to visit the Charlotte Hornets on Easter Sunday, continuing their road trip.
The Sixers knocked off the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night, led by Ben Simmons' 11th triple-double of the season and a big night for Ersan Ilyasova off the bench, where he scored 21 points and grabbed 16 rebounds.
For the second game in a row, the Sixers will need to win without Joel Embiid, who had surgery on Saturday to repair a fractured orbital bone in his eye.
Utilizing the 3-point shot and the bench will be key to beating the Hornets, but in all actuality, finding ways to beat Dwight Howard down low without Embiid will be the biggest challenge of all.
For the Sixers' playoff hopes, they are still looking forward to challenging the Cleveland Cavaliers for the third seed in the Eastern Conference. The Sixers currently trail the Cavs by a half game, who are also in action on Sunday. A Sixers win and a Cleveland loss would push Philly to the No. 3 seed momentarily.
While Embiid will miss his second straight game, the Sixers have had the services of Markelle Fultz for the last three games, in which he has been consistently improving every night. In his last three games, Fultz is averaging 7.7 points, five assists, and 3.3 rebounds per game in just over 15 minutes a game.
Not too shabby for a 19-year-old who only had four games under his belt previously.
"I've been doing a lot of practice to get my rhythm back," Fultz said. "The more games I play, the better it's going to get, just like anything you do.
"I definitely feel better and more comfortable. Shots were falling. So it felt good."
The Hornets aren't exactly having the season they had hoped for. Kemba Walker is playing well, so is Howard, but the Hornets were officially eliminated from playoff contention on Thursday when Miami and the Bucks won their games.
With the win on Sunday, the Sixers would sweep the season series 4-0.
| Matchup Preview | April 1, 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Philadelphia 76ers (45-30, 19-19 Away) |
Charlotte Hornets (34-43, 21-18 Home) |
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