Paul George scored 29 points, matching his season high, and Tyrese Maxey finished with the last 11 points for the 76ers in their 110-104 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday night.
Maxey contributed 10 of his 21 points from free throws as Philadelphia won back-to-back games for the first time this season, despite losing a 19-point lead in the second half. Jared McCain added 17 points off the bench, Kelly Oubre Jr. had 14 points, and George also had eight assists.
Brandon Miller scored 34 points, and Nick Richards had 22 points and 14 rebounds for Charlotte, but the Hornets lost their sixth consecutive game. Cody Martin scored 12 points, and Tidjane Salaun finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Hornets were down by 14 with less than 11 minutes to go but managed to cut the lead to 91-89 with more than five minutes remaining. Miller helped with three 3-pointers in less than 2 1/2 minutes.
After Philadelphia went nearly two minutes without scoring, the Hornets tied the game at 95-95 with 3:10 left on two free throws from KJ Simpson. Charlotte took the lead at 100-99 after a turnover led to Miller’s 3-pointer with 1:32 remaining.
Maxey responded by hitting 3 of 4 free throws in eight seconds to give the 76ers the lead back. Simpson tied it with two free throws at the 44-second mark. Maxey’s drive with 29.7 seconds left put Philadelphia back ahead, and he added four more free throws and a basket to seal the victory.
Charlotte dominated the rebounding battle, finishing with a 47-31 advantage. Guerschon Yabusele led the 76ers with 12 rebounds. George made 6 of 9 3-pointers, and Oubre, who used to play for the Hornets, hit 4 of 5 from long range. Miller made 7 of 16 3-pointers, more than half of Charlotte’s 13 total 3-pointers.
The 76ers held a 55-44 lead at halftime and pushed it to 78-59 late in the third quarter before Charlotte responded with a 10-2 run to close the period.
