By: Kylan Watson

The Philadelphia 76ers were looking to continue their momentum after destroying the Atlanta Hawks in Philly. Not only did their offensive momentum continue but they stifled Atlanta’s vaunted offensive attack. They were able humble the Hawks 111-97.

It did not start out well for Philly. They could not hit a shot early in first quarter. They were missing some good shots early. Later, they were able to settle down and started hitting some shots. They really took off when their second unit came in. Guard Furkan Korkmaz had to be inserted early in the game because guard/forward Danny Green strained his calf. He came in like a man who heard what people were saying about the Sixers bench unit. He scored 14-points and hit three three-pointers. Korkmaz led a bench that scored 46-points after only scoring 18 in game 2. The bench opened the offensive flood gates on Atlanta. They had no answer for them and the physicality Philly brought on the defensive end.

Philly did not allow Atlanta to get any easy buckets. They made them earned everything and the length of the Sixers defenders bothered the Hawks shooters. They only hit five/20 three-pointers and that was the difference in this game. Other than guard Bogdan Bogdanovic who single-handedly kept the Hawks in the game. He scored 19-points and hit two three-pointers. He did a lot of his damage in the first quarter and then Philly’s defenders shut him down. Atlanta had no answer for the defensive physicality Philly brought. They will need to find an answer for the length of Philadelphia or they may be going home.

The Sixers killed Atlanta’s will in the third quarter. They had cut the lead to five-points by half-time. Then Ben Simmons woke up. He spent a lot of energy making guard Trae Young’s life difficult. However, he decided he wanted to show his offensive game in the third quarter. He scored 11 of his 18-points in the third quarter. He took full advantage of the fact the Hawks had no answer for him. He also had seven assists. His playmaking allowed Philly’s shooters to get wide-open three-point looks. They hit ten three-pointers tonight. When Atlanta would dare to make a push center Joel Embiid would break their backs. He scored 27-points and had a very balanced game. He imposed his will on both sides of the ball. He had three blocks and changed a few Atlanta players mind when they saw some space to attack the paint. This was a really quiet night for Embiid in comparison to the previous games where he scored 39 and 40. The starting group really was not needed in this game as the bench decided it was there game tonight.

Both teams will now have two days off to rest up and find some answers. Atlanta will need to find a way to get their offense back on track, and Philly will need to find a way to continue their momentum on both ends of the court. This time off will also give Danny Green and Joel Embiid time to heal as well. Philly will need another balance night on both ends of the court if they want to  get a game 4 victory in Atlanta on Monday night.

On how Green is feeling, “He’s always gonna be in good spirits. We’re hoping for the best for him,” said Sixers forward Tobias Harris.