By: Kylan Watson
The Philadelphia 76ers were reeling after losing back-to-back games to the Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics early in the week. They faced the Atlanta Hawks in the third game of the In-Season Tournament, and it took a second-half scoring explosion to finish the Hawks off tonight beating them 126-116.
The Sixers started this game off slowly again they were struggling with the pace of the Hawks. Like the Pacers the Hawks are young and play fast and the Sixers just could not keep up with it early in the contest. Trae Young dominated this game early on, he scored 22-points and had 13-assists. It did not matter if a shot he took was contested or wide-open it found the bottom of the net and found the open man when the Sixers gave him more defensive attention. The Hawks were threatening to run away with this game and Philly turned up the defensive pressure. They were able to keep Young’s teammates in check and that allowed them to battle back in this game.
Philly’s comeback was led by the duo of Joel Embiid (32-points, seven-rebounds, and eight-assists) and Tobias Harris (29-points, grabbed 10-rebounds, and hit three three-pointers) who combined for 61 of Philly’s 126-points. Both players refused to let the team lose tonight and it did not matter who was on them. If there was space to put a shot up, they would, and it found the bottom of the net. Harris has had an impressive start to the season. He has been averaging nearly 20-points per game and has been playing way more aggressively and tonight was no exception. He bullied the smaller Hawks defenders and either made the shot or got fouled. An aggressive Tobias Harris is great for the Sixers and adds another dimension to a dynamic offense. This was another solid night for Embiid who was able to find his teammates in their spots tonight and kept his turnovers down. When he is playing smart and keeping the turnovers down that usually leads to a good offensive night for Philly. Nick Nurse once again inserted Jaden Springer to add energy into the game and he did that once again. His length bothered the Hawks shooters, and he was able to get some key steals to get the Sixers more offensive possessions. He has stepped into a big defensive role for the Sixers and if this continues, he should be a key piece off the bench for the Sixers.
The Sixers will now prepare to face the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday Afternoon. They will need to stay attached to their defensive assignments against a scrappy Nets squad. Additionally, Philly will need to keep their ball movement going on the offensive side. It leads to high-percentage shots and makes it hard for the opposing defense to focus on Embiid and Maxey. If they can implement these things, they should be able to get their 10th win of the season.