CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Nerlens Noel scored 16 points and three other players finished in double figures, but the Sixers fell behind early in a 113-88 loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night at Time Warner Cable Arena.
Nik Stauskas added 15 points, Jerami Grant 12 and Jahlil Okafor 10 for the Sixers (0-13), who have now lost 23 consecutive games dating back to the closing weeks of the 2014-2015 season.
Turning point
This one was decided early.
After the Sixers pulled within 10-9 on T.J. McConnell’s three-pointer with 7:39 left in the first quarter, the Hornets scored 11 unanswered points over the next 3½ minutes to pull ahead, 21-9.
The Hornets would go on to lead 30-15 at the end of the first quarter, and by as many as 23 points late in the second quarter en route to a 62-41 halftime margin.
Stat sheet
While the Sixers turned the ball over 17 times — a far cry from the 31 committed against the Indiana Pacers two days earlier — and shot 40.5 percent (32 of 79) from the field, they were only 8 of 26 on three-pointers and hit 16 of 22 from the free throw line.
NBA
Compare that to the Hornets’ numbers — 49.4 percent shooting (40 of 81), 12 of 25 on three-pointers and a season-best 21 of 22 free throw shooting. The Hornets also had 10 blocks compared to six by the Sixers.
Switching starters
The Sixers went with a starting lineup of Grant and Robert Covington at forwards, Stauskas and McConnell at guards, and Okafor at center. It was the sixth different starting combo the Sixers have used in the first 13 games.
Medical update
Guards Tony Wroten (knee) and Kendall Marshall (knee) were both inactive for Friday night’s game. In addition, forwards Richaun Holmes (hamstring) and Carl Landry (right wrist) did not dress. Landry, Wroten and Marshall have not played a game yet for the Sixers, while Holmes missed his sixth straight. Center Joel Embiid (right foot) is out for the season.
Coaching connection
Hornets head coach Steve Clifford has a connection with Sixers head coach Brett Brown’s family — Brown’s father, Bob Brown, gave Clifford his first collegiate coaching job. The elder Brown hired Clifford as an assistant coach at New Hampshire’s Saint Anselm College in 1985, and he would spend four years there.
Up next
The Sixers play their third back-to-back series of the season and the second game in a six-game road trip Saturday night, taking on the Heat at Miami’s American Airlines Arena.