17 June 2021

Atlanta Hawks capitalise on Philadelphia 76ers collapse to edge ahead in series

17 June 2021

The Atlanta Hawks capitalised on an incredible collapse from the Philadelphia 76ers to pull out a 109-106 victory and move to within one win of the Eastern Conference finals.

Philadelphia were dominant in the first half, rallying behind Joel Embiid to race out to a 26-point early lead.

The Sixers let their foot off the gas slightly in the third quarter, but still did enough to maintain an 18-point gap headed into the final period.

However, things quickly went downhill for the hosts in the fourth as Atlanta began to see shots fall, while Philadelphia could not buy a field goal.

A late surge from Trae Young helped the Hawks outscore the Sixers 40-19 down the stretch, with Ben Simmons’ free throw struggles only serving to accelerate Atlanta’s comeback.

Young finished with a game-high 39 points, while Embiid and Seth Curry combined for 73 for the Sixers. They were the only two Philadelphia players to score a field goal in the entire second half.

The Los Angeles Clippers also took a 3-2 lead in their series against the Utah Jazz following a 119-111 win.

Despite Kawhi Leonard being ruled out indefinitely with a knee injury prior to tip-off, the Clippers did well to keep pace with the Jazz early on, preventing a number of small runs from allowing the game to get away from them.

Down 65-60 headed into the third, Paul George stepped up in Leonard’s absence to spark a crucial 23-9 run which ultimately turned the tide in the Clippers’ favour.

George led the way for the visitors with 37 points and 16 rebounds, while Utah’s Bojan Bogdanovic shot nine three-pointers in a 32-point effort.

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