76ers vs. Hornets: Montrezl Harrell Explains Loss in Charlotte

The shorthanded Philadelphia 76ers got down to business on Tuesday night at home. Despite facing a rather healthy Brooklyn Nets team while missing three of five starters, the 76ers pulled off an unlikely upset against their division rival.

After picking up the upset win, the Sixers didn’t have too much time to soak it all in. Instead, they were on the road shortly after wrapping up the game, preparing to take on the Charlotte Hornets for the second matchup of a back-to-back.

In the first quarter of Wednesday’s game, the Sixers didn’t look like a team that wrapped up a game 24 hours prior. As they fired off with a 33-21 run in the first quarter, the Sixers looked like they were ready to build on the momentum they established the night before.

However, the Hornets bounced back in the second quarter. With a 32-21 showing before halftime, the Sixers’ once 13-point lead in the first half was down to just one point at the intermission.

While the Sixers put up a solid effort in the second half, Charlotte was clearly the more energized team in the final two quarters.

“I think we kind of relaxed a little bit,” said Sixers’ current starting center, Montrezl Harrell. “They turned up the pressure in the second half, and we started to turn over the ball a little bit, especially going into that early part of the fourth quarter.”

In the second half, the Sixers lost the turnover battle 6-10. The Hornets also shot better from the field, as they drained nearly 50 percent of their shots. The Sixers ran low on steam as the game winded down, but they put up a solid fight for an undermanned squad in a back-to-back.

Unfortunately, Charlotte’s effort was more advantageous.

“When they got on their run, they didn’t kind of look back,” Harrell continued. “We cut it down to three, five here and there, but it’s tough when guys are already on a roll. I definitely think we said it in the locker room, they beat us to a lot of 50-50 plays. That really carried over to the loss. The 50-50 plays, loose balls, diving on the floor, keeping the play alive. Just little things like that.”

The Sixers fell short to the Hornets with a 107-101 loss. While they dropped to 9-9 on the year, the team remains in good spirits as they understand they are shorthanded and simply working with what they’ve got for the time being.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.