Atlanta Hawks Defeat Philadelphia 76ers 110-93
The Atlanta Hawks beat the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night. How did they secure the victory?
The only consistent thing about the Atlanta Hawks early in the 2016-17 season was their inconsistency. They would defeat a good team, then lose to a bad team. They would go on a long winning streak, then follow it up with a long losing streak.
It looks like those days are over. The Hawks are finally taking care of business, proving themselves as one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. They followed up Wednesday’s loss to the Detroit Pistons by defeating the Chicago Bulls on Friday night.
It was an important win. It proved that this team has the ability to bounce back from adversity on short notice. That’s a trait every good playoff team needs to have.
Saturday night was another opportunity to prove that they could beat a team they’re clearly superior than. The Philadelphia 76ers came into this game with an 8-2 record in January. They’ve been playing their best basketball of the season this month, and are no longer the doormat of the Eastern Conference.
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The 76ers are a legitimately good team at the moment, but against Atlanta they would be without Joel Embiid. Embiid suffered a left knee contusion in Philadelphia’s Friday night win over the Portland Trail Blazers. It does not appear to be a serious injury. He was held out of the game against the Hawks as a precaution.
This was a tight game early on. After the first quarter, things were tied up at 25-25. The Hawks took control of the game in the second quarter, outscoring the 76ers 37-29 to take an eight point lead into halftime.
Atlanta would outscore Philadelphia by nine points in the second half to lock down a 110-93 victory. Mike Budenholzer told Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that their defense was to thank for that second half dominance.
"“Second half, holding them to 39 points, we keep harping, keep pounding on our defense,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said of the difference in the game. “… Our defense was a lot better in the second half in general. Just getting more stops. It lead to some offense.”"
The Hawks controlled the rebounding battle all night. They out-rebounded the 76ers 48 to 38, thanks largely to Paul Millsap and Dwight Howard. Millsap led all scorers with 22 points on 9-for-14 shooting. He also had 10 rebounds, a steal, and an assist. Howard finished the night with 13 points and 15 rebounds on 5-for-7 shooting.
Howard also discussed the game with Vivlamore. He noted that this Sixers aren’t quite the laughingstock they used to be.
"“Philly is a tough team,” Dwight Howard said. “They play really hard. They play aggressive. They play good team basketball. They share the ball. They find the open man. They’ve got a good group of young guys. It wasn’t as easy as people expect out of a Philly team. You have to respect them. They play great basketball.”"
Dennis Schroder had a quiet, but productive, night. He finished the game one assist shy of a double-double, compiling 15 points and nine assists. Kent Bazemore had a great shooting night, knocking down two three-pointers on his way to a 16 point night. Malcolm Delaney continued his great January, scoring 13 points on 6-for-9 shooting.
As a team, the Hawks shot 49.5 percent from the field and 35 percent from three-point range. Philadelphia shot 42.3 percent from the field, but 41.4 percent from three-point range. Their 12-for-29 effort from beyond the arc kept this game from being a blowout.
Ersan Ilyasova led the way for Philly, scoring 21 points on 8-for-15 shooting. Robert Covington chipped in 15 points, while Jahlil Okafor added 12 points. The 76ers are definitely a team on the rise. I don’t know if they have the firepower to actually compete for a playoff spot this season, but they’re getting close.
Joel Embiid looks like he’s going to be an absolute superstar, if he stays healthy. The basketball Gods owe the world a healthy Embiid. Ben Simmons will return from injury soon, adding to their wing and frontcourt depth.
If they can add one more talented lottery pick this June they’ll have the makings of something special. Sam Hinkie may have been fired for his sins, but it looks like he’ll be vindicated in the end. Keep on trusting the process, Sixers fans. You’re almost there.
Next: Dennis Schroder's All-Star Case
The win brings the Hawks record to 26-18 on the season. They remain the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference and are now just a half game back of the Boston Celtics for the 3rd seed (they can thank Portland for that). After a day off on Sunday, the Hawks return to the court Monday against the injury riddled Los Angeles Clippers.