The Hornets took steps Wednesday to bolster their depth at shooting guard and small forward, obtaining Xavier Henry from the Memphis Grizzlies for a 2013 second-round draft choice.

New Orleans was part of a three-team trade in which the 76ers sent forward Marreese Speights to the Grizzlies.

Henry, 20, was a lottery pick (12th overall) by Memphis in the 2010 draft, but his development has been hindered by injuries. He is recovering from a second-degree right ankle sprain, including some ligament tearing, which happened at the outset of the Grizzlies’ training camp.

“I think I’ll definitely be out there in the next two weeks,” said Henry, who played at Kansas and worked out for the Hornets at the Alario Center in a predraft audition. “I have a good estimation of about 10 days maybe, but I’d say in the next two weeks I’ll be out there playing.”

Hornets Coach Monty Williams, who has expressed concerns over his team’s shooting guard performances in the absence of starter Eric Gordon the past four games, says he can see Henry sliding between two positions. Gordon returned to the starting lineup in Wedneday night’s 101-93 loss to Philadelphia.

“Xavier is a guy who, when he’s healthy, is going to play for us because he can do a number of things on the floor,” Williams said. “I told him my biggest issue with guys is defending and competing, playing hard. Offensively, he has some things you can’t really teach. He has a good feel for the game. He can shoot the ball, not to range yet, but 18 or 19 feet.

“He might be more of a three (small forward) than he is a two (shooting guard). He has got a big body (6 feet 6, 220 pounds). He can do both. I’d probably call him a wing. A guy like Eric is just a two, but Xavier might be a wing, a guy who can play both. I don’t see him ever being a guy who handles the ball and initiates offense like Eric. I’d say he’s a solid wing.”

No matter the description, Henry, who missed 33 games because of injury last season, says he’s ready.

“This seems like a great team, a lot of defense, a lot of team work, and offensively, it just lets you play,” he said. “I think I’ll fit in pretty well with the guys. I always believed myself I could play either two or three. If I just come in and work hard, work hard on defense and do everything right, I’ll have an opportunity to play.”

The Hornets rank second to last in the NBA in 3-point shooting, at 17.9 percent. Williams said aside from the obvious, there are other issues that could be eliminated by Gordon’s return.

“I still think the guys that have been playing have to make shots,” Williams said. “If you look at our film, guys are getting open looks. What’s hurting us is turnovers in timely situations. In the last two minutes of the (Utah) game, we had two turnovers out of three possessions. You can’t get shots if you’re giving it to the other team. We are missing shots.

“But I don’t want to put all that pressure on Eric. He’s got to play his normal game. (Point guard Jarrett) Jack has got to continue to produce. We may be one of the only teams in the league that may count on our point guard to score double figures every night. But it’ll help our team.”

GORDON’S BACK: Saying his bruised right knee is still not at 100 percent, Gordon nonetheless returned to the starting lineup against the Sixers and scored a team-high 22 points, although he was just 1-of-6 from 3-point range.

“It’s good to come back and finally get back with the team,” he said. “We’re still playing hard and are capable of beating those teams we lost to.”

ALL-STAR MENTIONS: While it’s unlikely, given the lack of superstar faces on the roster, that the Hornets will garner any All-Star Game support as fans vote in the starters. Nonetheless, four players appear on this year’s ballot revealed Wednesday.

Gordon, centers Emeka Okafor and Chris Kaman and power forward Carl Landry are all on the Western Conference portion of the ballot.

The game will be played on Feb. 26 in Orlando.

Kaman is the only member of that group to have been selected on an All-Star team. He was a member of the Western Conference squad in 2010 as a member of the Clippers.

Since the 2007-08 season, the Hornets have had at least one All-Star representative each year, either Chris Paul or David West, both of whom are playing for different teams now.

Desperate to end a three-game losing streak, the New Orleans Hornets got needed help Wednesday night with the return of shooting guard Eric Gordon, who had missed the previous four games with a bruised right knee. But even with Gordon scoring a team-high 22 points, it wasn’t enough for the Hornets to prevent a 101-93 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in front of 12,387 at the New Orleans Arena.

The Hornets (2-4) were ineffective again in the fourth quarter as their losing streak reached four games.

This time they blew a six-point lead after turning the ball over six times and allowing 60 percent shooting (12 of 20) in the final period by the 76ers. The Hornets, who have not won since a Dec. 28 game against the Boston Celtics, were outscored 34-20 in the quarter.

In every game during the streak, they have been outscored in the fourth quarter, including 24-16 in Monday night’s 94-90 loss to the Utah Jazz.

“We have to look at film before I make a rash decision,’’ Hornets coach Monty Williams said. “I know there are some things I can do better to help our guys.’’

It was Gordon’s first game back since he made the winning shot with 4.2 seconds remaining in New Orleans’ season-opening 85-84 victory against the Phoenix Suns on Dec. 26.

Unlike his game in Phoenix, Gordon missed six of seven shots in the fourth quarter Wednesday night. He finished 8-of-22 and went 1-of-6 from 3-point range.

“We had too many lapses on defense where they hit some tough shots and we weren’t scoring offensively,’’ Gordon said. “We hurt ourselves by taking too many jump shots and not attacking the rim.’’

Gordon opened the game by hitting his first four shots, including a 3-pointer. His 11-point first quarter helped the Hornets take an early 13-point lead that eventually went to 14 before the first half ended with the Hornets leading 47-40.

Behind Gordon’s 20 points, the Hornets led 73-67 after three quarters, but they could not hold their momentum.

“I told our guys when you look back at a game like this, average teams lose, and teams that want to be good they find a way to win,’’ Philadelphia coach Doug Collins said.

Forward Thaddeus Young’s dunk spurred a 6-0 run that enabled the 76ers to surge ahead 89-83 with 4:18 remaining. Hornets guard Jarrett Jack made two free throws and a close-range shot to cut the deficit to 89-87.

However, point guard Jrue Holiday answered by hitting his third 3-pointer in the quarter that allowed 76ers to extend their lead to 98-89 with 46.7 seconds remaining. Besides Holiday scoring 14 of his game-high 23 points in the fourth, Philadelphia had five steals in the quarter.

“Holiday made some big plays for them down the stretch, but we should have never been in that position,’’ said Hornets backup center Chris Kaman, who scored 10 points and had eight rebounds.

John Reid can be reached at jreid@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3407.

Desperate to end a three-game losing streak, the Hornets got needed help Wednesday night with the return of shooting guard Eric Gordon, who had missed the previous four games with a bruised right knee.

But even with Gordon scoring a game-high 22 points, it wasn’t enough for the Hornets to prevent a 101-93 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers at the New Orleans Arena.

Forward Carl Landry scored 21 points and guard Jarrett Jack had 19 for the Hornets. Guard Jrue Holiday led the 76ers with 23 points and Evan Turner came off the bench to score 21.

Despite Gordon’s return, the Hornets were without starting small forward Trevor Ariza, who sat out with a strained groin that occurred in the fourth quarter in Monday’s loss to the Utah Jazz.

It was his Gordon’s first game back since he made the winning shot with 4.2 seconds left in New Orleans’ season opening 85-84 victory against the Phoenix Suns on Dec. 26.

“Its been feeling a lot better lately,’’ Gordon said before the game. “It’s been tough, three losses in a row. We’re very capable of beating all those teams. We had a couple of lapses to where maybe I could have been in the game to help the team.

“It has been frustrating but it’s also exciting to get back. It’s still sore, might be sore for a while. That’s just how it’s going to be. I just can’t have no setbacks.’’

Gordon made his first four shots, which included a 3-pointer. His 11-point first quarter helped the Hornets take an early 13-point lead that they eventually extended to 14 in the first half.

Behind Gordon, the Hornets led 73-67 after three quarters, but they lost their lead in the fourth quarter. Philadelphia’s Thaddeus Young’s dunk spurred a 6-0 run that enabled the 76ers to surge ahead 89-83 with 4:18 remaining. Jack made two free throws and a close-range shot to cut the deficit 89-87. But guard Holiday answered by hitting his third 3-pointer of the quarter, allowing the Sixers to retain their lead.

Even with the Gordon on the floor, the Hornets’ offense stalled from missed shots and poor ballhandling in the fourth quarter. While the 76ers kept attacking, the Hornets’ mistakes continued to mount.

The Hornets’ ragged fourth-quarter play was similar to Monday night’s 94-90 loss to the Utah Jazz in which they were outscored 24-16 in the last period, unable to provide any semblance of sustained offensive execution.

Throughout the opening three quarters Wednesday, the Hornets were able to spread the floor, and get the ball inside to Landry and Chris Kaman. During one stretch in the first half, the Hornets held a 14-4 advantage against the 76ers on points scored in the lane.

The Hornets didn’t run into problems until after leading 39-26 in the second quarter. That’s when their shooting problems resurfaced, allowing the Sixers to get back in the game. A 3-pointer by Holiday ignited a 10-2 run that cut the Hornets’ lead to five. Taking advantage of a 24-17 rebounding edge, the Hornets still went into halftime leading 47-40.

•••••••

John Reid can be reached at jreid@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3407.

Posted: Wednesday, January 04, 2012, 10:38 PM

Scores 22 in first game back following injury.