The Atlanta Hawks went from down big to big win in Game 6
The #BelieveAtlanta hashtag got a heavy workout on Wednesday as the Atlanta Hawks completed an improbable comeback on the road to take a 3-2 series lead over the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Hawks, who won 109-106, trailed by as much as 26 points in this game but got some help from some savvy vets down the stretch.
Trae Young did his usual thing, scoring 39 points, and going 17 of 19 from the free-throw line as Atlanta rode a 40-point fourth quarter to victory.
Young found John Collins early and often as the soon-to-be restricted free agent scored 13 of his 19 points in the first half. Unfortunately for the Hawks, the other three starters had a total of 12 points combined.
The Atlanta Hawks rallied behind Trae Young, Lou Williams to take control of Eastern Conference Semis
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Prior to the game, we gave our three keys to a decisive Hawks win. The final key was for Atlanta’s shooters to pick it up from beyond the arc, namely Bogdan Bogdanovic but Kevin Huerter probably should have gotten more mention in that piece as both players regressed.
Bogdanovic had six points and three assists but while shooting 33.3 percent from the floor and was 0-for-4 from three-point range. Huerter was even worse, missing all seven of the shots he took, including joining his wing-mate in going 0-for from outside. Clint Capela had the other six points from non-Young or Collins starters but he spent most of the game as Embiid’s lesser.
The 14 personal fouls between them, many used to send Ben Simmons to the free-throw line, only add to the incredible nature of this surprising win.
It was the play of two veterans off the bench though that helped buoy what Young and company were doing. Danilo Gallinari had 16 points, scoring double-digit points for the third time this series. He was the only other Hawks player besides Young and Collins with more than two points in the first half and finished the game 3-for-4 from beyond the arc.
“Sweet” Lou Williams lived up to his nickname with 15 points, his high this postseason, 13 of which came in the fourth quarter. At one point in the final frame, Williams had scored 11 straight Hawks points in just over two minutes of game time.
Young would score 13 of the final 20 points after that.
The Hawks shot 72 percent from the floor in the fourth and managed to knock down three of their eight fourth-quarter threes. For context, the 76ers shot 29 percent and were 0-for-4 from deep.
They came into this game with a lot of momentum after coming back from being down 18 to take Game 4. But they were manhandled by Philadelphia early as Atlanta could only muster 40 points in the entire first half.
That’s why they play all four quarters.
When Doc Rivers subbed out his final starter with about 40 seconds on the clock in the third, they had a 20 point lead. He had to bring them back less than two full minutes into the fourth because the lead shrank to 11. But it was already too late.
Next. Atlanta Hawks: 3 keys to the Philadelphia 76ers playoff series. dark
Williams and Young took over and led the Hawks to an improbable win. Now, they just have to do it again in Game 6 to reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2015.