What a performance by Kemba Walker! Charlotte Hornets’ Point Guard gives the Philadelphia 76ers 60 points – and yet he has to accept a bitter defeat. Sixers newcomer Jimmy Butler brings the thriller to a close.
The hero of the game? That was that evening Jimmy Butler – for almost 53 minutes it looked as if nothing and nobody could spoil the day of Kemba Walker anymore. A day that will go down in the history books of Charlotte Hornets!
The Point Guard of the Hornets made an absolutely outstanding appearance: 60 points (franchise record) with a strong 21 out of 34 from the field stood at the end of the game on the account of the 28-year-old, plus 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. And yet it wasn’t enough to win.
That was again due to the butler just mentioned. In his third game in the Sixers jersey, he only scored 15 points, but in overtime he became a spoilsport. First Butler blocked a throw by Walker in the final minute and then saved the ball in a spectacular way – still 11.1 seconds to play, time-out Philadelphia at 119:119.
In the last attack Jimmy Buckets took over the sceptre unsurprisingly, in the isolation he let the clock tick down, shortly before the siren the new Sixers pushed the outstretched arms of Dwayne Bacon off the perimeter and actually sank the ball into the heart of the Hornets fans. Victory for the Sixers!
“That felt great”, Butler was happy about his game winner afterwards. “I just wanted to make some room. Climb up, sink the roll and give them no more chance to win the game.”
“But I also have to say that Kemba gave me 60 points today”, Butler added appreciatively. On Phillies’ side, Joel Embiid (33 points, 11 rebounds) as well as Ben Simmons and J.J. Redick each defended themselves against the monster game of the Hornets Guard with 23 points.
In the Hornets Jeremy Lamb scored 20 points and 10 rebounds. Apart from the outstanding Walker, the remaining hornets only had a field casting rate of 32.3 percent (21/65 FG).