By Matt Rochinski, hornets.com
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Result Nicolas Batum was feeling it as the Hornets visited the City of Brotherly Love on March 29, tallying his second triple-double (19 points, 12 rebounds, 12 assists) of the season and leading Charlotte to a 100-85 victory. “I’m just feeling more and more comfortable with this team,” Batum said after the Hornets reduced their magic number for a playoff berth to two games. “I trust my team. I love the coaching staff and love my teammates. I just love being here.”
Turning Points Despite leading by as many as 19 points into the third quarter, the Sixers refused to quit against Charlotte, knocking down back-to-back-to-back three-pointers and trimming the Hornets lead to, 60-50, with just over 8:30 remaining in the frame. Led by four points apiece from Nicolas Batum and Cody Zeller, Charlotte took control of the contest by rattling off a 10-3 run over the next four minutes, pushing the lead to 70-53. Zeller connected inside off a pretty feed from Batum to hit the 70-point plateau, and the assist gave Batum his second triple-double of the season with 4:38 remaining in the third as Charlotte coasted to the win.
Inside the Box Score Nicolas Batum led four Hornets scoring in double digits in his triple-double (19 points, 12 rebounds, 12 assists) performance… Cody Zeller recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds to go with two blocks. Zeller was a perfect 7-of-7 from the field but missed his last shot of the game with 1:46 remaining to finish 7-of-8. He was also a perfect 4-of-4 from charity stripe in what could have easily been a Player of the Game performance if not for the efforts of Batum… Kemba Walker followed with 16 points, five rebounds and two assists… Courtney Lee closed out Charlotte’s double-digit scorers with 15 points on 60.0 percent shooting (6-of-10 field goals, 2-of-2 three-pointers) and added six rebounds and three assists… Ten different Hornets scored in the winning effort… Charlotte shot 43.7 percent (38-of-87) from the field, 94.4 percent (17-of-18) from the charity stripe and 28.0 percent (7-of-25) from long range, compared to 31.2 percent (30-of-96) from the field, 90.0 percent (9-of-10) and 36.4 (16-of-44) from beyond the arc for the Sixers… The Hornets outrebounded Philadelphia, 65-45, marking a season high on the glass. The previous high of 59 was recorded twice, most recent on March 16 against Orlando…
Hornets Player of the Game Nicolas Batum became the first Charlotte player with multiple triple-doubles in a season since Baron Davis in 2000-01 by recording team highs in points (19), rebounds (12) and assists (12). Batum is now the 11th NBA player to record multiple triple-doubles in the 2015-16 season.
Sixers Player of the Game Robert Covington paced Philadelphia with 18 points while going 6-of-14 (42.9 percent) from outside the arc. He added seven rebounds and two assists in the losing effort.
Game Notes With the win, Head Coach Steve Clifford evened his NBA coaching record at 119-119… The Hornets improved to 9-3 away from Time Warner Cable Arena since Feb. 1, tying them for the second best road record in the NBA in that timespan… After starting the season 4-15 on the road, Charlotte has posted a 12-5 record away from Charlotte since… The Hornets (Kemba Walker, 160; Marvin Williams, 135, Nicolas Batum, 134) and Sixers (Isaiah Canaan, 166; Robert Covington, 137; Hollis Thompson, 132) entered the game as the only two teams in NBA with three players with 130+ made three-point field goals… Jeremy Lin missed the contest with a sore back.
Next Up The Hornets return home to complete the home-and-home set with Philadelphia on Friday, April 1 at Time Warner Cable Arena. This game can be seen on FOX Sports Southeast or heard on WFNZ or on the official Charlotte Hornets mobile app.
