NBA Playoffs: The Hawks fly into Philly and steal Game 1 in a nail-biter!
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – The Atlanta Hawks pulled off a shocker on Sunday, beating the Philadelphia 76ers on their home court in Game 1 of the Eastern semifinals.
"We’re out here playing for each other. Out here having fun. Everyone's locked in."
It's hard to disagree with Trae Young's post-game thoughts. The 22-year-old keeps on rolling in his first postseason run, leading his Hawks through the Eastern Conference playoffs and over the Sixers in a game that ended 128-124 for Atlanta.
While it seemed a good bet that the Hawks would get one, maybe even two games in this series, Sunday night's performance blew all expectations out of the water.
The opener had Young going off for 25 of his 35 total points in the first half, Atlanta giving up a 20-point lead in the final minutes of the game, and everything else in between. But the Hawks held on, and now they have the series lead going into the next game on Tuesday night.
Joel Embiid was back from a knee injury for the Sixers and dropped a game-high 39 points, but like the Knicks in the first round, Philly couldn’t seem to contain Young’s quick and slippery style of play. Young and the Hawks struck early and often, building a lead as high as 26 at one point during the second quarter.
That all turned around when Philly adjusted their approach and fought back to get within a few points in the final minutes of the game. Their full-court defense almost got the better of the Hawks, forcing them into six fourth-quarter turnovers that could've stolen the win for the Sixers.
In the end, Bogdan Bogdanovic sealed the win with a pair of free throws as the Hawks escaped with the win.
Joel Embiid promises to keep playing hard despite his injury
The Sixers big man and 2021 MVP candidate came into the series opener not playing at 100% but still played hard to drop 39 points. He’s still a little hobbled by a meniscus tear he suffered during Philly’s last playoff loss in Game 4 of the first round, against Washington. He hasn’t been ruled out of playing in game two, but he’s got his mind on playing as hard as he can to lead his team to success.
"My goal is to win the championship. I'm going to put my body on the line to make sure that happens. I'm going to give everything I got," Embiid said in a postgame interview with ESPN.
Game two is back in Philadelphia, on Tuesday night.
Cover photo: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire