Despite carrying momentum into Saturday with five straight wins and 23 victories in their last 29 games, the Charlotte Hornets couldn’t maintain their edge late against Philadelphia.
They entered the fourth quarter with a five-point lead in a key matchup for postseason positioning, but their offense cooled off, going 0-for-4 on twos and 5-of-18 from three in the final period.
Head coach Charles Lee noted that the offensive struggles began to affect their defensive effort as well, per Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer.
“In that fourth quarter especially, just our defensive focus started to wane a little bit as we were missing shots,” Lee said.
“The guys did a good job the last few games of just not letting that be the case ever. Our shot-making can’t affect our defense and I thought I did a little bit.
“Too many guys just driving without that physicality piece. Too many back doors, too many offensive rebounds and clutch moments. Offensively, I thought that our pace started to slow down a little bit.
“And we were able to really put them in some compromising situations, created a lot of advantages when we played fast and played with great ball movement.”
Southeast Notes: Snyder, Hawks, Hornets, Wizards, Hardy https://t.co/QTolhu2uxI pic.twitter.com/TgUTuJcX5X
— Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors) March 29, 2026
