After falling to the Boston Celtics on Friday evening, the Philadelphia 76ers return home on Saturday to face one of the league's hottest teams, the Charlotte Hornets.
With Michael Carter-Williams sidelined due to a toe injury, JaKarr Sampson took over the starting point guard duties in Boston. Sampson played well, but it was Tim Frazier who managed to steal the show. Frazier, a former Penn State guard, was signed to a ten-day contract just before Friday's game. He played over 34 minutes in his debut, and despite shooting just 2-9 from the floor, dished out 11 assists and pulled down five rebounds. For more on Frazier, check out Jake Fischer's mini-feature.
Philadelphia shot the ball well on Friday, knocking down 44% of their attempts from beyond the arc. It was Hollis Thompson who led the three-point shooting charge, was 4-5 from deep, and finished the game with 16 points. Thompson struggled severely for most of the season, but seemed to have re-discovered his shooting touch since the Atlanta Hawks game on January 31st. Over the past four games, he's made 14 of his 21 three-point attempts, raising his three-point shooting percentage to 36.3%.
The Sixers are winners of their last three games at home, and will look to extend that streak against Charlotte. They are once again expected to be without the services of Carter-Williams.
On the flip side, the Hortnets are winners of eight of their last ten, and have worked their way back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Their recent stretch of success is highlighted by back-to-back wins over the now struggling Washington Wizards. Al Jefferson made his impact felt for Charlotte in the front of end of their home-and-home, putting up 19 points and adding 12 rebounds, his 13th double-double this season. When Jefferson struggled on Thursday, it was Gerald Henderson who picked up the slack, leading all scorers with 27 points.
The game tips off at 7:30 p.m., and can be seen on CSN Philly.