By: Kylan Watson

After beating the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night, the Philadelphia 76ers faced the Atlanta Hawks for the final time this season. Despite a strong first half showing the Sixers once again could not contain Jalen Johnson who exploded in the second half to lead his team to the 125-116 victory.

The Sixers found their offensive rhythm early in this contest and they were able to outhustle and outwork the Hawks early in this contest. Kelly Oubre Jr, returned in this game and made his presence felt throughout the entire game, he scored 24 points in this game and was able to take full advantage of the smaller Hawks defenders. When Oubre Jr. has it working on both sides of the ball it adds another dimension to Philly’s offensive and defensive capabilities. Atlanta really did not have an answer for what he was doing, and his aggressive defensive play forced the Hawks to either turn the ball over or take bad shots. The Sixers were able to score 17 plus points from the Hawks turnovers and Philly was able to dominate the Hawks and impose their will.

Unfortunately for the Sixers in the second half, the Hawks made their adjustments and retook the lead in this contest and took this game from Philly. Jalen Johnson (35 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and had 7 assists) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (24 points) combined for 59 of the Hawks’ 125 points and the Sixers could not stop either one of them during the third or fourth quarter. Johnson was able to make Philly’s defenders look like they were practice dummies as he found his way to basket for a dunk or lay-up that helped his team pull away and win this contest.

Additionally, the Hawks have the Sixers number throughout this season, they beat them four straight times this season. Philly will have to find a way to put together a coherent defensive plan against Atlanta, especially if they must see them again in the playoffs, which could happen depending on how the rest of the season goes for both teams.

During the late stages of this game Tyrese Maxey (31 points) collided with Adem Bona going for a steal and seemed to hurt his finger or his hands and left the game. The Sixers need all the help they can get right now and losing Maxey for a significant amount of time while they are chasing a top six playoff spot to avoid the 2026 NBA Play-In Tournament would be awful for them. Philly will need to get VJ Edgecombe back or pray that everyone else plays out of their minds until Maxey gets healthy again.

The Sixers will now prepare to face the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night. They have found their groove after acquiring James Harden a few weeks ago. Philly will need to stay connected to their defensive matchup, limit their turnovers, win the rebounding battle, and cash in on the high percentage shooting opportunities that are created from their ball movement. Implementing these things into their game plan will put them in great shape to win their 35^th game of the season on Monday evening.