The Philadelphia 76ers had to work for it at Spectrum Center on Saturday, but they walked out with a 109-104 win over the Charlotte Hornets after flipping a six-point deficit with a strong fourth quarter. Nick Nurse’s group closed the game with a 32-21 final period to secure its sixth victory of the season.
The night also featured a heated moment midway through the fourth when Jaylen Brown got tangled up with Charlotte’s Grayson Allen. With LeBron James and Joel Embiid both sitting out, the tension briefly stole the spotlight from a game that stayed tight all the way down the stretch.
Tyrese Maxey kept carrying the load for Philadelphia. He finished with 38 points, four assists and four rebounds, continuing the strong start he has put together to open the campaign. Jaylen Brown, meanwhile, wasn’t at his sharpest scoring-wise and ended the night with 16 points on 6-for-15 shooting.
Philadelphia also got useful production off the bench. Anfernee Simmons supplied 19 points and three steals, while Jabari Walker added 12. VJ Edgecombe chipped in 10 points and eight rebounds as the 76ers found enough support around Maxey to finish the job.
Charlotte leaned on Allen for much of its offense off the bench, and he delivered 27 points and four rebounds. Brandon Miller added 24 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Naz Reid and Moussa Diabate were the only other Hornets to reach double figures, with 14 and 10 points respectively.
Jaylen Brown and Grayson Allen were each handed a technical foul after this interaction 😳 pic.twitter.com/WiG45mNKWE
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 1, 2026
The 76ers weren’t perfect from the floor, but they made their threes count, hitting 14 of 35 from deep for 40 percent. That edge helped them survive a game that stayed competitive until the closing minutes. With the win, Philadelphia moved to the top seed in the Western Conference, with the Detroit Pistons right behind at 5-1.
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76ers Suddenly Face A Starting Five Dilemma In Charlotte
After taking care of the Knicks, the 76ers now have to solve a different kind of problem in Charlotte: how to piece together a starting group without LeBron James and Joel Embiid for the second night of a back-to-back. Nick Nurse is already weighing his options, and the decision could shape everything from the opening tip to how Philadelphia matches up across the floor.
One path would be to lean into size and give Adem Bona and Dean Wade a look in the first five, while another would be to go smaller and use Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to help cover the gaps. Jaylen Brown is also questionable, and the Hornets own availability questions around Jabari Walker and Tacko Fall could add another wrinkle to a game that already looks like it may come down to lineup math as much as execution. [Read more 🡒]
76ers Momentum Gets Tested As Philly Heads To Charlotte Short-Handed
The 76ers trip to Charlotte comes with a very different look than the one fans had in mind, as the team has already ruled out LeBron James and Joel Embiid for injury management. James is dealing with low back and sciatica issues, while Embiid continues to work through a right foot plantar fascia injury, leaving Philadelphia to navigate another game without two of its biggest names.
The injury list does not stop there, either, with Dominick Barlow and Ariel Hukporti also out and Jaylen Brown listed as questionable. For a team trying to keep its momentum intact, the challenge now is less about star power and more about how deep the rotation can hold up in a game that suddenly looks a lot less straightforward. [Read more 🡒]
Maxey Is Giving This Shorthanded Sixers Team A Real Identity
Tyrese Maxey is doing more than carrying the scoring load for the shorthanded 76ers, he is helping define what this group can look like when the roster is stretched thin. On Halloween, he poured in 38 points to lift Philadelphia past the Hornets, 109-104, in a game that asked plenty of the Sixers because they were missing Joel Embiid and LeBron James, while Charlotte was also down several regulars.
The bigger takeaway for Philadelphia was not just the win, but the way the supporting cast fit around Maxey. Anfernee Simons, Jaylen Brown, Jabari Walker and VJ Edgecombe all had notable roles in the victory, giving the Sixers a little more structure and balance than a one-man show. For a team trying to stay afloat through injuries, that kind of identity matters as much as the final score. [Read more 🡒]