CHARLOTTE, United States (AFP) — Nicolas Batum provided the second half wake up call for Charlotte Hornets who rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 109-93 on Wednesday.
Batum had a self described slow start to the season. But he knew exactly what the problem was and how to fix it.
On Wednesday at the Spectrum Center arena, he carried the offence at times with 17 third quarter points for the Hornets who trailed by 13 points in the first half before scoring the first 13 points of the third.
“I had to get more aggressive,” Batum said. “The first week and a half (of the season) I was too passive and just tried to move the ball and get everybody involved.
“So sometime I have to look for my shot, and I had to do it. I had to step up. I wasn’t playing like myself.
“That’s why I had to step up, and in the third quarter I was able to hit some shots and get my rhythm back.”
Batum, a nine-year veteran guard who signed a five-year, $120 million contract over the summer, finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
He said he challenged himself to pick up his intensity at halftime after going one of five from the field in the first half.
Batum was six of eight from the field with three three-pointers in the third quarter, and the Hornets were 16 of 22 from the field in the quarter with five triples.
Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said it wasn’t a case of Batum being selfish because somebody needed to step up and score some points for his team.
“You could tell that he was going to come out and look for his shot more,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said of Batum.
“You could tell from his body language that he was upset, in a good way, that he knew we had to play better. He was aggressive right from the start of the second half.”
Kemba Walker scored 22 points for the Hornets who led by as many as 18 at one stage.
The Hornets (3-1) were playing on three days’ rest and the Sixers were on the second night of their first back-to-back games of the season.
The hapless Sixers (0-4) are still winless as they try to avoid the kind of dismal starts that have plagued them the last two years. They lost their first 18 games last season and started the 2014-2015 season 0-17.
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