NBA Playoffs: The Sixers force Game 7 with a gutsy comeback against the Hawks
Atlanta, Georgia – There was an inkling of an upset in the air, but the Philadelphia 76ers live to fight another day as they tied their series at three games apiece to force a deciding Game 7 against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday.
The Sixers played a good, solid game to win 104-99 against the Hawks and did what they needed to avoided getting sent home from the Eastern Conference semifinals. Trae Young (22) outscored everyone with 34 points, but Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, and Seth Curry came together to keep the Sixers’ hope alive, at least for one more game.
It was a tale of two halves, as the East’s top seed looked in serious trouble for the first couple of quarters. The Hawks jumped out in front, never trailing on the scoreboard up to halftime. But Philly turned it around with a big third quarter to take the momentum back from the home team. Ultimately, they did enough in the fourth to hold off several comeback attempts from the Hawks.
The Sixers found success by shooting well from long-distance, led in part by Curry’s 24 points, with 18 of them coming from threes. Harris also dropped 24 points of his own as well.
And Embiid, who’s still dealing with a bad knee, gave a strong performance with 22 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
The "process" is still working – for now
The Sixers are back at home for game seven, which is less encouraging than it should be. They’ve only won one out of three games in Philly during this series, and this will give the Hawks plenty of confidence in their chances.
The series will be decided on Sunday night in Game 7, from Philadelphia.
Cover photo: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire