By: Kylan Watson

The Philadelphia 76ers faced off with the Atlanta Hawks for the second time this week. Atlanta was looking to extend Philly’s misery after blowing them off the floor on Thursday night. Philly responded thanks to Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, and Tobias Harris who refused to lose tonight. The trio powered the Sixers to a 121-109 victory over the Hawks.

Philly started the game off hot, they hit their first few buckets from the opening tip-off and had the Hawks reeling in the first three minutes of the first quarter. Joel Embiid (42-points), Tyrese Maxey (26-points), and Tobias Harris (21-points) led them tonight. The trio combined for 89 of Philly’s 121-points, the teammates got whatever they wanted from the field. There was not much Atlanta’s defenders could do to stop them on either side of the floor. Especially, Embiid who responded tonight and refused to let his team fail tonight. He had 10 of his 42-points by the first three minutes of the first quarter. He continues to round into form, and it has continued to help the Sixers on both sides of the ball. His playmaking ability tonight was really helpful for them. Embiid was able to find his teammates in their sweet spots there were a number of possessions that he saved with his ability to find the open man tonight. In the third quarter Embiid found a wide-open PJ Tucker in the paint to increase the Sixers lead. His passing ability will be an important development for the Sixers for the remainder of the season and in this one month stretch without James Harden. Embiid will continue to have to do it all for Philly until he returns and getting his assist numbers up will continue to encourage his teammates to shoot the ball.

Atlanta weathered the offensive barrage from Embiid, Maxey, and Harris. They were able to fight back into the game in the fourth quarter. They cut Philly’s 20-point lead to six points midway through the f quarter. The Hawks backcourt duo of Dejounte Murray and Trae Young led them tonight. The duo combined for 50 of Atlanta’s 109 points, they made Philly’s defenders pay for daring to give them room to operate. Murray led an eight-to-nothing scoring run to get Atlanta back in the game. His length prevented the Sixers from being able to block his shots and whenever they would overplay him, he would attack the basket and get them in foul trouble. The Sixers made the adjustment to trap him to force the ball out of his hands. They were able to do just enough to stop him and Young to pull-away late in the game. Philly’s defensive intensity and length helped them get their sixth win of the season and split the two-game series with the Hawks.

The Sixers will face the Utah Jazz tomorrow night in Philly. They will need another strong night on the defensive end if they want to make things difficult for Lauri Markkanen and the rest of the Jazz’s shooters. Philly will need to use their length to take away the three-point line from the Jazz. Additionally, they will need to start well on the offensive end. If they hope to keep up with one of the best teams in the Western Conference and get their seventh win of the season.