Atlanta Hawks: 3 keys to claiming a decisive Game 5 victory

Keys to winning Game 5 vs Atlanta Hawks:1. The “Big” Quarter

Atlanta had been getting outscored in the latter stages of games throughout this series. The 76ers had a decisive edge in that regard and we mentioned that things obviously had to change for the Hawks fortunes to reverse.

Boy, did they ever.

Atlanta outscored Philadelphia 54-38 in the second half after it looked like the Hawks were headed towards another blowout in the other direction after the first.

They wound up getting 17 second-half points from Trae and 10 from John Collins, including seven in a surprising third quarter. It was an encouraging sign from the soon-to-be restricted free agent. If Collins can keep attacking the rim from the weak side, cleaning up the misses from the shooters which we’ll get into shortly, then Atlanta can take control of this series in Game 5.

That third quarter, right out of halftime, is pivotal not only for the Hawks but the 76ers as well.

All season long, the third quarter was Philadelphia’s worst scoring quarter. Technically, the fourth quarter was but you figure a good portion of that is due to reserves playing in lopsided games.

This series, it’s been one of their best, along with the fourth as they’ve really applied to the Hawks in the second half. The proof? Even after Monday’s Game 4 win brought Atlanta neck-and-neck in terms of first-half scoring, they still trail in second half scoring by 6.3 points.

Game 5 will need the same type of aggression from the Hawks, regardless of whether or not Joel Embiid plays. Even if the 76ers big man plays, he should be slowed somewhat by his re-aggravated knee, giving the Hawks another avenue of attack. As a matter of fact, healthy will play a very big part in Game 5.