The Philadelphia 76ers are not going home… well, they are, actually. The Sixers rallied on the road to beat the Hawks in Game 6, which will send the series back to Philadelphia for what promises to be a stressful Game 7. The win came despite a poor night offensively from Joel Embiid, as well as another quiet game from — you guessed it — Ben Simmons.
Early on, things looked dire. The Hawks jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the first quarter and rode a giant Trae Young-shaped wave of momentum in the first half. Young looked ready to close out the series, posting 20 first-half points and hitting big shot after big shot. The Sixers were plagued by foul trouble, and there wasn’t much consistent offense outside Tyrese Maxey.
All those struggles, and it was only a four-point Hawks lead at halftime. On the back of two historic blown leads, credit to Philadelphia for not imploding when the Hawks punched first. The Sixers fought back into the game, then took flight in the second half.
Philly jumped out to a quick and sizable lead in the third quarter, led by Seth Curry, who hit his first four shots in the frame (including 3-for-3 from deep). Joel Embiid also found more success in the second half, though it was hard-fought and well-earned. The best starter tonight, however, was Tobias Harris. He was able to shake off a rough first quarter and turn in some big buckets as the evening progressed.
The fourth quarter was a tight affair, with Atlanta threatening to pull back in front on several occasions. The Sixers’ lead held steadfast around 3-8 points, however, and Atlanta could not get over the hump despite more heroics from Trae Young. Young even trimmed the lead to one in the final minutes on a Curry-esque deep ball, which led to a timeout and was followed by a power outage, but the Sixers did not flinch. Doc Rivers handled his late-game rotations well, Simmons was minimally impactful in the best way, and the Sixers closed strong to send things back north.
The Sixers showed remarkably strong resolve in this game. Embiid should look better at home in Game 7, and more calls should slide in Philadelphia’s favor. The series is not over — everyone knows the Hawks can and will compete on the road — but the Sixers gave themselves a chance after complete and utter embarrassment earlier in the week. The Sixers’ chance at redemption is ongoing.
The Sixers silenced the Atlanta crowd on Friday night. Now, the series shifts back to Philadelphia. Here are some standout performers.
39 mins | 24 pts | 3 reb | 2 ast | 1 stl | 1 blk | 1 TO | 8-14 FG | 6-9 3PT| 2-2 FT | 3 PF | +9 |
Give the man his roses. Curry has been arguably the second-best Sixer in this series, and he was easily the most reliable offensive player in tonight’s contest. Curry continues to shoot liquid fire from deep, and he played strong defense as well. The Better Curry.
38 mins | 22 pts | 13 reb | 1 ast | 0 stl | 2 blk | 8 TO | 9-24 FG | 1-4 3PT| 3-4 FT | 4 PF | -1 |
It’s easy to forget what Embiid is battling through to play these games. He did not have it offensively for much of the night, and eight turnovers is a tough pill to swallow in a potential elimination game. Even so, he battled valiantly on defense and came up big on the glass. He contributed in other ways, and had his fingerprints all over the game late. He fought hard.
25 mins | 6 pts | 9 reb | 5 ast | 0 stl | 1 blk | 2 TO | 2-6 FG | 0-0 3PT| 2-4 FT | 5 PF | -7 |
Simmons got into foul trouble early, and was benched for a large chunk of the fourth quarter. He looked inanimate in comparison to Tyrese Maxey offensively, and was unable to contribute on defense aside from a couple impressive flashes. Not the kind of “Silence The Haters” night one might expect from an All-Star and max-contract point guard who spent the last two nights getting clowned on Twitter and in the streets of his home-town team.
39 mins | 24 pts | 5 reb | 2 ast | 0 stl | 0 blk | 0 TO | 9-20 FG | 2-3 3PT| 4-4 FT | 4 PF | +3 |
A strong bounce-back from Harris after his abysmal 2-for-11 night in Game 5. He elevated the offense when no one else would in the first half, and made some clutch defensive plays down the stretch. Solid, as has been the case almost all season.
30 mins | 16 pts | 7 reb | 1 ast | 1 stl | 1 blk | 0 TO | 5-12 FG | 1-2 3PT| 5-8 FT | 1 PF | +12 |
The rook showed up. He was unafraid of the moment, and was by far the Sixers’ biggest offensive spark in the first half. He also closed the game. For the 21st pick to play 30 minutes in an elimination game, while outperforming his All-Star counterpart at his position, speaks highly of Maxey’s talent and work ethic (and poorly of a certain All-Star counterpart). Maxey should play big minutes again in Game 7. He’s the best player on the bench. In fact, Doc should probably shorten the rotation to seven or eight players in Game 7., with Maxey featured.
The final installment of this series will take place on Sunday, June 20 at 8:00 PM E.T. The game will air on TNT, or you can watch it live in the Wells Fargo Center. Alaa, we’re coming in for a landing…