The Atlanta Hawks have equalized the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Philadelphia 76ers with a 103-100 win. Although the offense does not get going for long stretches of the game, Joel Embiid also has a horror evening on the other side. Led by Trae Young, the Hawks fight for their comeback victory.
The point guard was the top scorer of his team with 25 points. Although Young, like his colleagues, had problems with his throw (8/26 FG, 3/11 threesome), he set a personal playoff career record with 18 assists. Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 22 points (9/24 FG), John Collins (14 and 12 rebounds), just like Clint Capela (12 and 13), put on a double-double.
However, Atlanta only hit 36.6 percent from the field and 30 percent from downtown. This led to an 18-point lead for the Sixers, which fell apart in the second half. Above all, Joel Embiid remained completely pale offensively after the break. He finished the game with 17 points at 4/20 from the field and 21 rebounds.
The best scorer of the guests was Tobias Harris with 20 points, followed by Seth Curry with 17 points. Ben Simmons scratched a triple-double (11, 12 rebounds and 9 assists), but also dived in half two. The second half went to the Hawks with a total of 54:38, who thus equalized the series. On Thursday night it continues in Philadelphia.
Compared to Game 3, there were changes in the starting lineup on both sides. Furkan Korkmaz replaced the injured Danny Green at the Sixers, while Kevin Huerter moved into the top five for Solomon Hill on the home side. Both teams would have imagined the start of the game much better, both the Hawks and the Sixers did not go offensive.
Sixers take control – Hawks shooter cold
While Embiid didn’t take a single finish in the zone in the first quarter, but instead was satisfied with 4 jumpers on the ring from the middle distance, Young also had enormous problems with his throw. In addition, the Hawks-Bigs left several alley oops, so that Philly slowly took control in the middle of the section despite a 1/8 start. After eight minutes, Curry sank the first Sixers three of the game, his second a little later put Philadelphia at +10. The guests went into the second quarter with 28:20.
At the start of the round, Young sat on the bench with a thickly wrapped right shoulder, and Embiid also had to be loud TNT treated in the cabin. But both came back on the floor and after five minutes in the second section, Young floated his first goal of the day, followed by a three from Embiid, also his first field goal. The Hawks fought their way back within striking distance, but Harris and Embiid dominated on the opposite side. Philly took control again with a 17: 3 run, the guests were up to 18 points in front. At halftime it was 62:49 for the Sixers.
After the break, the Hawks offense went much more smoothly, a crashing dunk from Collins brought the home side back to 8 points before Harris brought the celebrating Hawks fans back down on the ground. The fans were back after another putback hammer from Collins. After a tough foul by Simmons on the Hawks-Big, he conceded a Flagrant 1.
Embiid with a horror evening – Hawks turn the game
But Collins was everywhere now, another dunk followed by a Gallinari threesome brought Atlanta to 75:77. Meanwhile, Embiid was completely cold in the third quarter. The center missed all of its 7 attempts from the field. The third quarter finally went to the Hawks with 31:20, who were again completely in the raffle (80:82).
A Bogdanovic triple brought the Hawks back into the lead for the first time in what felt like an eternity. But the Sixers Bank around Shake Milton (xx) gave the guests the upper hand again, but only for a short time. When the starters came back, Young Clint Capela alley-ooped the Hawks lead again a good five minutes before the end. The State Farm Arena exploded.
It went on with great excitement. While Embiid afforded an offensive foul and another turnover, the home side left some good opportunities to expand their lead. Korkmaz sank an important triple, but Collins responded from downtown. Embiid was still a shadow of himself, Young brought Atlanta back to the front.
At +1, Atlanta lost the ball 16.6 seconds before the end, but Philadelphia could no longer punish them. Embiid missed a layup, Simmons failed at the tip-in. Young raised from the free-throw line, Curry’s last three-way attempt was too long. Victory for the Hawks!
The most important statistics
Atlanta Hawks (5) – Philadelphia 76ers (1) 103:100 (BOXSCORE), Serie: 2-2
- The first half can be described as catastrophic from the perspective of the Hawks offense. The home side had miserable throwing rates of 33.3 percent from the field (17/51) and 29.4 percent from downtown (5/17). Atlanta also left open opportunities from a distance and even close to the ring. In the zone, the Hawks only hit weak 9/27 FG.
- Still, Philly couldn’t dominate the zone as it did in previous games. That was also due to Embiid, who preferred to act outside the zone for long stretches of the game – without success. He only got 2 degrees close to the ring, but he was 2/9 out of the middle distance. At the points in the paint, Atlanta even had a slight advantage (40:34).
- In the third quarter, the Hawks raised their throwing rates a bit, but that didn’t change much in the overall context that it wasn’t an excellent shooting evening for Atlanta. In the final section the problems were back, Atlanta ended the game with 36.6 percent out of the field and a three-man quota of 30 percent (Philly: 43.5 percent FG and 40.7 percent threesome)
- The fact that the Hawks stole the victory despite these odds was also due to the turnover discrepancy. The Sixers gave up Spalding 12 times, including 4 ball losses in the fourth quarter. There were as many as Atlanta afforded the entire game.
The star of the game: Trae Young
Even if the 22-year-old’s odds were anything but outstanding, his influence on the game was unmistakable. He staged some of his teammates excellently and then took command himself during crunchtime. His ice-cold floater put Atlanta in the lead again, then held his nerve off the free-throw line.
The flop of the game: Joel Embiid
In the second half there was nothing to be seen of the dominant Embiid of the first games. After the break, the Cameroonian didn’t hit a single one of his 12 field throw attempts, and his last attempt to take the lead was feasible. He definitely didn’t look fit and tried to partially force his luck at throwing. Without success.
The scene of the game
In the third quarter, it was the Collins poster slams – there were three in number within a few minutes – that breathed new life into the Hawks. Especially worth mentioning: the putback dunk over Embiid in the middle of the passage. In the final section he also got a monster block out against Harris.
Sixers vs. Hawks: the series at a glance
| game | date | Time | Home | Away | Result |
| 1 | 6. June | 19 o’clock | Sixers | Hawks | 124:128 |
| 2 | 9. June | 1:30 | Sixers | Hawks | 118:102 |
| 3 | 12. June | 1:30 | Hawks | Sixers | 111:127 |
| 4 | 15. June | 1:30 | Hawks | Sixers | 103:100 |
| 5 | 17. June | tba | Sixers | Hawks | |
| 6 | 19. June | tba | Hawks | Sixers | |
| 7* | 21. June | tba | Sixers | Hawks |
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