By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Tip-off: 7:00 pm ❖ Location: Philadelphia, PA ❖ TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia ❖ Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
The Philadelphia 76ers (38-30) look to win their third straight game tonight against a Charlotte Hornets (30-40) team that has lost seven of their last nine games. This will be the third time in March that the two teams meet with Philadelphia having won the first two matchups by a point differential of +25. For a Charlotte squad that hoped to make a late season playoff run behind All-Star point guard Kemba Walker, their chances have completely diminished due to their recent poor stretch of play.
To makes things worse for the Hornets, they will be without the services of Nicolas Batum. The 29-year old forward out of France was diagnosed with Achillies tendinitis on Sunday and will be out indefinitely. He had been averaging a near triple double in two games against the Sixers this season (13 ppg, 9 apg, 8.5 rpg).
Heading into tonight's game, Philadelphia is a game behind Indiana for the fifth seed and only 1.5 games behind the Cavaliers for third. The Sixers are 14-1 at the Wells Fargo Center in 2018 and play 10 of their final 15 games in Philly.
The Sixers should be fresh tonight after having two days off following a back-to-back that featured two down-to-the-wire finishes. On Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, the Sixers found themselves down by 13 in the third quarter, with a disappointing loss to the then 24-win Knicks looming. Philadelphia outscored the Knicks 35-19 in the fourth quarter, ending the game on a 20-6 run to steal a win on the road. Joel Embiid recorded 29 points and 10 boards while Ben Simmons notched a 13-point, 12-assist, 10-rebound triple-double in the comeback victory.
On Friday against Brooklyn at home, the Sixers and Nets were tied in the final minutes. With the game locked at 110, DeMarre Carroll hit a triple to put New York up by three. J.J. Redick made a free throw and Covington converted a layup to tie things back up. A Caris LeVert bucket put the Nets back in front, but Covington answered with a three-pointer to put the Sixers up 116-115 with 35 seconds to go. T.J. McConnell made a pair at the line before Spencer Dinwiddie cut the lead back to two with a free throw of his own, but it was too late as two Joel Embiid free throws sealed the win for Philadelphia.
"It lets them know because we've been on the other side of that," Brett Brown said after the game. "We do have the people, I believe we have the structure and they have shown they have the poise to be able to walk a game down."
In two games against Charlotte this season, forward Robert Covington is averaging 19 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals, shooting 57.1 percent from the floor and 53.8 percent from beyond the arc. His defensive effort during the last game against the Hornets played a big part in holding Kemba Walker to a 1-for-9 shooting night.
Meanwhile, the Hornets are coming off of a 124-101 loss to the Knicks on Saturday. Charlotte only shot 36.7 percent from the floor and were outscored 42-17 in the third quarter. Dwight Howard, who's scored 30+ in six of the Hornets' last eight games, finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
"I didn't think it was going to be that bad, but it was a tough one for us," Howard said post-game. "We are playing pretty good as of late, but tonight we just laid an egg."
Charlotte is 2-6 during the month of March. Tonight's game will be stop four on a five-game road trip for them with their lone win so far coming against Atlanta.
| Matchup Preview | March 19, 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Charlotte Hornets (30-40, 11-23 Away) |
Philadelphia 76ers (38-30, 21-11 Home) |
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