The Philadelphia 76ers suffered but survived the new recital of Trae Young with the Atlanta Hawks to force the seventh game of the Eastern Conference Semifinals tie, which will be decided early Sunday through Monday from 02:00 CET on the peninsula. The tight 99-104 win came after a tight end marked by the success from the visiting staff line and the genius of the local star.
The Sixers had two faces last night and they brought out their best version in the second half, going back 12 points behind with the season at stake thanks to the flashes of Seth Curry, Tobias Harris and rookie Tyrese Maxey.
The outside trio helped hide the shames of ben simmons last night, once again plagued by the accumulation of fouls and low confidence in free throws, and counteracting a magnificent effort from a sublime Young.
The Atlanta star went down to 34 points, 5 rebounds, 12 assists and 3 steals (13-30 TC; 5-10 3P) and allowed the hosts to overcome a deficit that reached 10 points in the third period. A triplazo of his two minutes from the end turned off, literally and metaphorically, the lights of the pavilion in Atlanta.
With 93-94 with two minutes to go, the Sixers used the unexpected hiatus to compose themselves and focus on the mission of winning the game so as not to immediately go on vacation. With 24 points and 6 3-pointers from 9 attempts, Curry started the Philadelphia reaction at the match.
Until the break (51-47), the visitors had settled for surviving before the Joel Embiid’s physical problems, which fortunately was also activated in the second half and contributed 22 points and 13 rebounds in the game (9-24 TC; 1-4 3P). TO Tobias Harris the same thing happened to him, and his 24 points were also essential in the visiting win.
The wow factor in Game 6, despite significant contributions from Curry and Harris, was the appearance of the rookie Maxey to take minutes and prominence from Simmons. The rookie shone with 16 points and 7 rebounds in 29 minutes that filled the gap left by the starting point guard (6 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists in 25 minutes).
In the previous five games, Maxey he had accumulated only 33 minutes of play and 13 points in total in the tie.
Three triples by Curry to start the second half starred in the change in dynamics of the match. The 14-0 run for the Sixers turned the score around and they got to place 11 above. Young, however, resisted and pulled the cart of his companions.
In the end, the Hawks star was left too lonely. Bogdan Bogdanovic, in fact, left the game with four minutes remaining due to a knee injury and finished with 7 points and 3 of 11 in field goals. His input was missed as much as that of J
ohn collins, which stayed at 7 points and F
ue news for fighting with Embiid after receiving an involuntary elbow from the Cameroonian.
The action marked the peak moment of tension in the clash, which the referees settled with a foul in attack by Embiid and double technique for the two protagonists. Kevin Huerter, with 15 of his 17 points in the first half, marked Atlanta’s sweet moment in the game. They failed to finish when the 76ers’ spirits were weaker, despite the fact that the appearance of Danilo Gallinari (16) was noticed in the fourth quarter.
Unlike in Game 5, the hit free throws allowed the Sixers to escape alive and force the seventh. Doc Rivers didn’t cut a hair and pointed at Simmons, who was left out in the decisive moments so as not to harm the team with his lack of success from the personal line.
The seventh game, with a tremendous Trae Young, promises to be a true ‘thriller’ Yes things remain the same. The Hawks are looking to be the surprise of the year, and the Sixers are looking to buy some time to see if Embiid’s knee improves in the Conference Finals, where they have been waiting for several years.