Coby White vows to keep fighting for playoff seeding after 76ers loss

It wasn’t supposed to end this way. The Charlotte Hornets had the Philadelphia 76ers on the ropes, building a 13-point second-half lead at Spectrum Center on Saturday night, until Joel Embiid and Paul George, back in the lineup and back on a mission, engineered a stunning comeback to steal a 118-114 win.

JOEL EMBIID GAME SAVING BLOCK AGAINST BRANDON MILLER.pic.twitter.com/JRhutwU9Xq

— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) March 29, 2026

Brandon Miller did everything he could, pouring in a team-high 29 points with 8 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough as Philadelphia outscored Charlotte 26-17 in the fourth quarter to snap the Hornets’ five-game winning streak.

Charlotte’s loss brought their record down to 39-35, which put them in the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference play-in picture. They are still trying to make the playoffs for the first time in ten years. Coby White wasn’t going to let the locker room get too down as the playoffs got closer.

Coby White on the pulse in the locker room after the loss:

"Hurt, because we fought to the end. We know what's at stake. And obviously, Philly did too. They got some guys coming back early, coming to play, coming to compete…"

"These last couple games, we gotta fight, we… pic.twitter.com/tNI5ZTwylQ

— r/CharlotteHornets (@HornetsReddit) March 29, 2026

“Hurt, because we fought to the end,” White said postgame. “We know what’s at stake. And obviously, Philly did too. They got some guys coming back early, coming to play, coming to compete.”

But more revealing than his assessment of the opponent was how White described the team’s mindset before the coaches even walked through the door.

“These last couple games, we gotta fight, we gotta claw away to improve our odds of making the playoffs. It hurt, but we had some good chatter before the coaches came in amongst ourselves… about the game, but also how can we not let it bleed into tomorrow? How can we come back with a refreshed mind tomorrow ready to compete?”

That’s championship-culture language from a team that is still very much building one. Charlotte sits just a game behind Miami and Orlando in the standings, with the play-in tournament set for April 14-17. Every game from here is a must-win mentality.

The Hornets don’t need a speech. They need a bounce-back. Based on Coby White’s tone Saturday night, they already know it.

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