By: Kylan Watson

After beating the Indiana Pacers on Friday night, the Philadelphia 76ers faced the Atlanta Hawks for the second time this season. Both teams traded blows in this contest, but thanks to a fourth quarter scoring explosion from Dyson Daniels Atlanta beat Philly 120-117.

Philly found their offensive rhythm early in this contest thanks to Paul George who scored 9 of his 35 points in the first quarter, which helped the Sixers stay competitive in that quarter. George continues to look better in every game he has played, during this game he showed his ability to attack the basket, and this was by far his best game in a Sixers uniform. This is the player the Sixers gave a max contract to last summer. Also, if he continues to play like his superstar self then Philly will be in great shape throughout this season. Additionally, his defensive ability continues to improve the Sixers defensive scheme, he had multiple deflections and steals late in this contest that helped Philly stay in the game and almost steal it from Atlanta.

Despite the scoring explosion from George, the Hawks had a double-digit lead in this contest. Their length bothered the Sixers throughout this game, and they were able to get multiple easy baskets because of those turnovers. Philly did not value the ball and that cost them this game and got the Hawks going in this contest. Daniels (27 points), Onyeka Okongwu (20 points), and Vit Krejci (19 points) combined for 66 of Atlanta’s 120 points and the Sixers had no answer for them. Daniels and Okongwu both hit timely buckets throughout this game to carry the Hawks over the finish line against the Sixers.

This was a great game between two dynamic teams, but the outcome was affected by two bad calls that went against the Sixers. In the first half the referee crew missed an obvious basket interference call which allowed the Hawks to add two points to their lead, and a backcourt violation on Daniels late in the fourth quarter that would have given the Sixers a chance to take the lead. However, these missed calls added four points to the Hawks lead and Philly loss this game by three points. It should not come to that, but the Sixers have a legitimate gripe that if those calls do not happen, they might have won this game.

It is a shame that it came down to that for the Sixers they got great performances from Joel Embiid who scored 22 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in this game (First double-double of the season), George, and VJ Edgecombe who scored 26 points in this game. In Tyrese Maxey’s absence, Embiid, George, and Edgecombe have found themselves and that will bode well for the Sixers later this season and this week too as they prepare to face the New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks this weekend.

The Sixers will now get most of the week off as they prepare for a Friday night matchup with the New York Knicks. Philly will need to limit their turnovers, stay connected to their defensive matchup and communicate so they can limit the effectiveness of Jalen Brunson, Karl Anthony-Towns, Mikal Bridges, and OG Anunoby. Additionally, they will need to continue to use their ball movement to create high-percentage scoring opportunities on the offensive end. Implementing these things into their game plan on Friday night will put them in great position to win their 15^th game of the season.