By Josh Liddick, Sports Talk Philly Staff
The Sixers entered Wednesday night searching for their first win of the 2016 season. They hoped it would come against the 2-1 Charlotte Hornets. Philadelphia started the season 0-3, and after their opening night near-win, they haven't been close to having a chance.
In the first quarter, the Sixers and the Hornets finished the quarter with the score tied at 26, keeping the game close and allowing the Sixers to hang around to start the game.
The Sixers outscored the Hornets 27-20 in the second quarter, giving Philadelphia a 53-46 lead going into halftime.
The second half did not go the Sixers way whatsoever as they were outscored 39-20, and were unable to produce any offensive highlights, struggling to conjure up points against Charlotte.
Trailing in the 4th quarter, Charlotte kept the lead out of reach and the Hornets won the contest, 109-93.
Dario Saric and Ersan Ilyasova off the bench led the scoring for the Sixers, with 14 points a-piece. Saric also contributed seven boards and an assist. Ilyasova, acquired yesterday in the Jerami Grant trade that sent him and a conditional draft pick to Philadelphia from the Oklahoma City Thunder, also provided three rebounds, an assist, and 2-for-2 from the free throw line for his new team.
Sergio Rodriguez stayed true with his point guard role with 10 points, five assists, and 3-7 from 3pt.
With the absence of Joel Embiid, who did not travel with the team to rest, Brett Brown utilized his entire lineup by playing 9 of 11 players on playing roster for more than 20 minutes during the game.
T.J. McConnell contributed six assists of his own, assisting Rodriguez with playing a significant role at the point guard position off the bench.
There were a few plays during the game that the Sixers played sloppier than they would have liked to, which caused the Hornets to pull away late in the game. Brett Brown continues to look like he will be making more adjustments as the weeks pass to give the Sixers the best chance at future success.
It was an interesting choice to name the starting five as Holmes, Covington, Saric, Rodriguez, and Henderson, with most notably Jahlil Okafor on the bench.
The Sixers fall to 0-4 on the season, and after an impressive opening night game against the Thunder, it seems like the Sixers still lack hope as they look for their ever-important first win of the 2016 season.
The Sixers will play an important, marquee matchup against LeBron James and his defending NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday November 5, at 7 p.m. at the Wells Fargo Center.
