The Atlanta Hawks went into hostile territory on Father’s Day and walked out with their first Eastern Conference Finals berth since 2015. Their 103-96 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers came on a night when Trae Young was 5-of-23 from the floor and Bogdan Bogdanovic continued to struggle as his balky knee limited him to a little over 21 minutes.
The last time the Hawks were in this position they were led by the head coach of the team they’ll face in Mike Budenholzer, now in his third season with Milwaukee Bucks.
On Sunday, they seized the moment and knocked out the top-seeded 76ers in just their third Game 7 in franchise history. It came just one day after the Bucks eliminated the second-seeded Brooklyn Nets and further shakes up an NBA Playoffs that has seen many a familiar name fall.
How did we get here? Where did the game turn and what did the Hawks do to make it go their way?
The Atlanta Hawks needed an all-around effort to get the win and they got it when they need it most
In a game that featured 20 lead changes, 19 ties, and no team leading by more than seven, it always felt like the Hawks would find a way to gut out the win. They even continued to shoot poorly as a team from the outside, going 25 percent from beyond the arc.
If you were told before the game that the Hawks would have fewer points in the paint, second chance, and fastbreak points than the 76ers, you would say they were going to lose.
That’s exactly what happened but the Hawks somehow still won. So let’s talk about the ‘why’.
Atlanta Hawks forward Kevin Huerter had a season-high 27 points in Game 7 win
This is a bit of a double entendre because we need to give credit to two Hawks specifically off the bat. First up is Kevin Huerter who came out and had the game of his career in Game 7, dropping 27 points on 55.6 percent shooting (50 percent from deep). The best part about Huerter’s night is he started and finished strong.
The third-year wing out of Maryland had nine points in the first quarter and eight in the fourth.
He also pitched in seven rebounds, three assists, a steal, and had just one turnover. It really was an impressive showing from a player who has been quick to call out the Hawks shooting woes.
Heuerter had a bad night in Games 3 and 5 with three total points in those contests. But he’s otherwise been very consistent, averaging 15 points in the other four contests prior to Game 7. His 27 points on Sunday were a season-high.
The other player that has to be mentioned is John Collins and the dual-threat he was on the boards and scoring. Collins, the soon-to-be restricted free agent, bounced back from his own poor showing in Game 6 with 14 points and 16 rebounds on Sunday. It was the second time this series Collins followed a poor performance with one that made you hope the Hawks keep him around.
If nothing else, we got this nice shot of Collins rocking a shirt with a picture of his incredible dunk on Joel Embiid from Game 6.
Atlanta Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic battled through a knee injury in Game 7 but still made an impact
The Hawks may have lost the hustle stats battle, and gotten out-assisted by the 76ers, but they did manage to win the turnover battle. Philly’s 17 turnovers weren’t even the most they had in a series where they had fewer than 10 in just one game. Embiid had eight on his own. Atlanta on the other hand had turnover issues of their own but came out with the edge in Game 7.
Young had six giveaways as his shooting woes caused him to press a little in the heart of the game.
Beyond that though, only three other Hawks had at least one turnover and only one, Collins, had more than one with just two.
We talked about the issues turnovers were giving the Hawks and what it would mean if they weren’t able to clean it up. Their 10 giveaways in Game 7 were their second-fewest of the series, though they do rank fifth in the postseason.
Even more impressive is their nine steals is just the second most they had this series. And two players who failed to score much, Bogdanovic and Lou Williams, had five steals between them.
If they are able to take care of the ball as they did and take it away as they did in several games this series, they could also pull the upset against the Bucks. For what it’s worth, Milwaukee did just average 12.9 turnovers per game against the Nets so there will be opportunities for the Hawks to take the ball away.
Where they’ll have to be careful is the Bucks are not far behind the Hawks in steals per game this round and actually ahead of them in the playoffs overall, checking in at sixth.
Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young has continued to find ways to come through
It probably needs to be discussed more, but when players score is just as, if not more, important than how much they score on any given night. Young’s Game 7 performance highlighted exactly that. While he struggled to shoot the ball, he still managed to end the night with 21 points, matching his low-bar for the postseason.
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He averaged 30 points per game for the series.
That goes to show how prolific Young has been scoring the ball but he also went to work late in Game 7.
He started going just 1-for-12 from the floor and 1-for-7 from three in the first half. But he went to the line seven times, hitting six of his free throws and ending the first half with nine points. He started the second half quietly with just two points in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, though, Young took over with 10 points, finishing just behind Embiid for most in the quarter. He did it in a variety of ways too, shooting 42 percent from the floor, 33.3 percent from three, and hitting 3-of-4 free throws.
His steadiness despite his struggles throughout the night is a great sign and further evidence that he was built for the big stage.
We can’t overlook his work as a passer either. Young had nine of his 10 assists through three quarters and did most of his damage in that aspect to start both the first and second half. He had four assists apiece in the first and third quarters.
Young will see one of the game’s best perimeter defenders in Jrue Holiday in the next round. He just needs to continue doing what he’s been doing all postseason and the Hawks can win.
We’ll go into just how they’ll go about that at another time. For now, let’s just enjoy this feeling.