PHILADELPHIA _ Question this!
There were a lot of questions surrounding the 76ers' four victories in five games heading into Friday night. No one can deny that they are playing better basketball. It's just that those victories came against some of the league's worst teams.
Well, they had the same result Friday night while playing one of the Eastern Conference's top-eight teams.
The Sixers (12-25) slowly may be making believers as they defeated the Charlotte Hornets, 102-93, at the Wells Fargo Center. The Hornets (20-20) entered the game with the conference's seventh-best record. They left Philly with their first series loss to the Sixers in seven meetings.
Meanwhile, the Sixers extended their winning streak to three games. They have also won five out of the last six games for the first time since winning six out of seven in early 2012.
Joel Embiid finished with 24 points, eight rebounds, three blocks, two steals and five turnovers. He has now scored 20 or more points in eight consecutive games.
Dario Saric (15 points), Ersan Ilyasova (12), Robert Covington (11) and Sergio Rodriguez (11) were the other Sixers scorers in double figures. Nerlens Noel finished with six points and a game-high four blocked shots.
Nic Batum paced the Hornets with 19 points. Kemba Walker added 17 points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals and four turnovers. However, the standout point guard struggled from the field as the Hornets extended their losing streak to four games. He made just 7 of 23 shots _ including 2-for-9 on 3-pointers.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist finished with 12 points, 12 rebounds and four assists for the Hornets. Cody Zeller (16 points, 10 rebounds) also had a double-double for Charlotte.
Embiid helped fire up the Sixers at pregame introductions.
Following his lead, the Sixers went out and led the entire game. They built a 13-point cushion in the third quarter.
For Gerald Henderson (eight points), Friday marked a matchup against one of his former teams. The Charlotte Bobcats drafted him 12th overall in the 2009 draft. The Bobcats changed their name to the Hornets before the start of the 2014-15 season. Henderson was traded along with Noah Vonleh to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Nic Batum on June 24, 2015.
Then he signed a two-year free-agent deal with the Sixers for $18 million on July 9.
"That was two teams ago," Henderson said of facing Charlotte. "You know obviously more than anything, you want to win (against a former team). It's obviously another game. You want to win and you want to play well. ... But everybody just (moves) on with their careers."
Henderson still has ties to the franchise and Charlotte. Walker remains one of his best friends.
"We live right down the street from each other when I got back in the summer time," Henderson said. "Coach Cliff (Steve Clifford) is a great guy."
