76ers 77, Hornets 62
NEW ORLEANS - There is ugly, and then there is incredibly ugly.
The Philadelphia 76ers explained the difference an adverb can make Wednesday night, forcing the New Orleans Hornets into 24 turnovers and holding the Hornets to a franchise low single-game scoring total in a suffocating 77-62 victory at the New Orleans Arena.
It hardly mattered that the 76ers played without centers Andrew Bynum and Kwame Brown and shooting guard Jason Richardson. They got 14 points from Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner, and 12 each from Lavoy Allen and Thaddeus Young.
Incredibly, the Hornets had 24 turnovers and just 23 field goals as they made just 23 of 69 (33.3 percent) from the field.
The Hornets' previous low-water mark was 65 points in losses to Miami in 2000 and to Boston in 2003.
The 76ers took their biggest lead of the game, 65-47, with an 8-0 run in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter. The Hornets scored two points on their first nine possessions of the quarter, and at one point they had more turnovers (24) than made field goals (20).
With the Hornets committing five turnovers and missing three shots on their first eight possessions of the second half, the 76ers went on a 10-0 run to take a 46-37 lead. Allen keyed the spurt with a pair of short jumpers. Ryan Anderson finally ended the streak with an 18-foot jumper, ending a 4:13 drought to close the gap to 46-39.
The 76ers forced eight turnovers and held the Hornets to 4-of-15 shooting and 10 third-quarter points in building a 57-47 lead. Jrue Holiday had four assists in the quarter. The 76ers' defense was so dominant that the Hornets had 18 field goals and 18 turnovers in the first three quarters.
Both teams played shorthanded and combined for 24 turnovers in a forgettable first half in which the Hornets took a 37-36 lead. Jason Smith came off the bench to pace the Hornets with eight points, and Greivis Vasquez, averaging 9.7 assists per game, had five points and six assists.
The Hornets failed to take advantage of their size advantage, however, preferring to shoot from the perimeter, making just 14-of-37 from the field (37.8 percent). Evan Turner led the 76ers with eight points, and Spencer Hawes had seven off the bench.
NOTES: After being fined $25,000 for criticizing the NBA's concussion policy, Hornets coach Monty Williams said before Wednesday night's game that his remarks were "inappropriate." Davis, the NBA's No. 1 overall pick, suffered a mild concussion last Friday in a victory over Utah and was not allowed to travel the next day to Chicago because of the league's stringent concussion protocol. He will have to be cleared to play by an independent neurologist after completing a series of physical tests. The league fined Williams for saying: "It's just that now you treat everybody like they have on white gloves and pink drawers. It's just getting old, but it's just the way the league is now." Williams said Wednesday those remarks were intemperate. "I work in a business where you just can't say anything you want to say," he said. "What I said was inappropriate, and you have to deal with the consequences." ... Although Davis was in the Hornets' locker room before the game, bouncing a tennis ball, he declined to comment on his health. ... Also sitting out was Austin Rivers (sprained left index finger), the Hornets' other No. 1 pick. The 76ers played without centers Andrew Bynum (sore knees) and Kwame Brown (left ankle) and guard Jason Richardson (left ankle). ... Eric Gordon, who played in just nine games for New Orleans last season, flew to Los Angeles for "intensive" rehabilitation of his right knee.