PHILADELPHIA -- Charlotte Hornets guard Kemba Walker, enjoying the best season of his NBA career, said much of his improvement is due simply to being around the block a few times.

"I'm five years in now," he said. "Things are just moving a little slower for me."

Walker was, however, moving quickly when his team needed him most Wednesday night, scoring eight of his 30 points in a pivotal second-half run to spur the Hornets to a 119-99 victory over the woebegone Philadelphia 76ers.

Cody Zeller added 15 points and four blocked shots, and Marvin Williams contributed 14 points and nine rebounds for the Hornets, who won for the eighth time in 10 games to improve to 32-28, the sixth-best record in the Eastern Conference.

Jeremy Lin also scored 14 for Charlotte, which has won six of its last eight road games and eight of its last 10 meetings with Philadelphia, the NBA's worst team at 8-53.

Isaiah Canaan, Nerlens Noel and Robert Covington had 17 points each to lead the Sixers, who lost their 10th straight. Philadelphia, which earlier this season had losing streaks of 18 and 12 games, became the first team to have three skids of 10 games or more in a single season since the New Jersey Nets in 2009-10.

The Sixers, who were without Jahlil Okafor (bruised right shin) for the second consecutive game, led 70-67 with 4:24 left in the third quarter. Walker then contributed a layup, a 3-pointer and a three-point play as the Hornets reeled off 13 straight points to take the lead for good.

"As a leader, you know the way games are going, the situation," he said. "Most times I have to be really aggressive, and go out there and make plays by myself."

Walker, who made 10 of 21 shots from the floor, is amid a season in which he has shown "really significant" improvement, according to coach Steve Clifford. He has achieved career highs in scoring (20.6), shooting percentage (42.7) and 3-point percentage (36.8).

"It really gets back to his pick-and-roll game and his range shooting," Clifford said.

In all the Hornets outscored the Sixers 20-4 in that run to go up 87-74 with 10:40 remaining in the game. Charlotte's lead ballooned to as many as 23 down the stretch.

"We dug ourselves a hole, we got back in it, and then we had a hard time after that," Philadelphia coach Brett Brown said.

The Sixers have been particularly poor on defense of late, allowing an average of more than 116 points a game during their losing streak.

"I feel like we have to get better at simply guarding our own men," Brown said. "I think our rim protection, our blocked shots, have been down."

His team had five blocks Wednesday, but the Hornets shot a healthy 49.4 percent as a team.

The game was tied eight times in the first half, and Charlotte was up just 52-50 with 2:36 left in the second quarter before scoring the last six points of the half and the first six of the second half to go up 64-50.

Zeller, who earlier in the period dunked on consecutive possessions, began that run with two free throws after drawing a foul from Noel with 2:18 left. Zeller fell awkwardly into Noel on the play, leaving both players sprawled on the floor, and Noel left the game with a bruised right knee. He returned in the second half.

The Sixers answered with a 20-3 burst that included 3-pointers by Covington, Ish Smith and Canaan, putting them ahead 70-67.

NOTES: Hornets C Al Jefferson, playing just his seventh game since missing 23 after undergoing surgery to repair a torn right lateral meniscus, finished with six points and six rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench. It was also the first time he played on consecutive nights since his return. "This is really October for him," coach Steve Clifford said. "His ability to pivot on his leg, I think, is his best since his first year here. His mobility is good. It's just really his conditioning and his timing." ... The Sixers honored their late, legendary statistician, Harvey Pollack, on the 54th anniversary of Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game. "You were just sort of amazed at the passion and the history that he represents," coach Brett Brown said of Pollack, who died last June 23 at age 93.