Three reasons the Sixers won, 118-111, at Charlotte

The 76ers completed a perfect three-game road trip with Wednesday’s 118-111 win over the host Charlotte Hornets.

Leading by as many as 26 points, the Sixers let up but still had more than enough to win their fourth in a row and improve to 16-6.

Here are three reasons why they won.

With Terry Rozier out because of a right ankle sprain and P.J. Washington sidelined with a right foot sprain, the Hornets needed to get even more scoring from Gordon Hayward, who entered the game averaging 23 points.

Hayward had a good game, 22 points on 9-for-19 shooting, but he was bottled up in the first quarter and that is when the game was won.

The Sixers led, 30-13, after one quarter and Hayward was 1-for-6, including 0-for-1 from three-point range. After the game, coach Doc Rivers talked about Ben Simmons’ early defense on Hayward, but in looking at his first-quarter field-goal attempts, it was really the Sixers’ team defense that stood out against the Hornets’ scoring leader.

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Hayward was moving well without the ball and freeing himself from Simmons, but on one missed 6-foot floater, Joel Embiid altered the shot. On another driving to the basket when Hayward got by Simmons, Embiid blocked the shot.

Later in the quarter, Hayward appeared to have a path to the basket before Danny Green blocked his shot from behind.

Hayward eventually heated up, but Charlotte couldn’t dig out of that first-quarter hole.

Of all the plays Embiid has made this year, this length-of-the-court drive for a dunk might have been the best. There aren’t many 7-footers who can lead a fast break and then finish with this type of authority.

Why was this game-changing?

The dunk gave the Sixers a 9-7 lead, one that they would never relinquish. The Sixers fed off the momentum of that play. It was also the first of four straight shots that Embiid hit. He got his first rest with 2 minutes and 25 seconds left in the first quarter and the Sixers well in command with a 25-9 lead, forcing the Hornets to play catch-up the rest of the game.

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Green scored 16 points, making 6 of 9 shots from the field, including 4 of 7 from three-point range. Here is one of his long-range shots.

On a night when Seth Curry was held scoreless (but as Green pointed out had a plus-18 rating), the Sixers needed more offense from other areas. Green responded. The Sixers are 8-1 when Green scores in double figures.