Thanks to a well-rounded performance from the entire roster, the Sixers were able to take care of business against a pesky Hawks team.
With the hunt for the #1 seed still very much alive, the Sixers took care of business at home against a rather feisty Atlanta Hawks team. The Sixers, operating with a fully healthy starting five, looked like a pretty in sync unit for the majority of the evening. Seven different players scored in double figures, and 15 players saw court time.
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As has become expected with this year’s squad, Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Tobias Harris led the way for Philly’s offense. All three players scored 18 on the night, with Simmons missing just two shots (8-10).
Off the bench, the Sixers got a rather pleasant level of production from a variety of different players. Dwight Howard had a 19 (points) and 10 (rebounds) night, Shake Milton poured in 13, Furkan Korkmaz chipped in 11, and Matisse Thybulle recorded a clean 10.
On the other side of the ball, Atlanta’s Trae Young got the better of the Sixers’ defense. He recorded a game-high 32 points, going 10-10 from the free-throw line. However, the rest of the Hawk’s role-players didn’t have the same level of success. Clint Capela was held in check with just 11, John Collins also only recorded 11, and Danilo Gallinari was a whopping -26 off the bench.
With the postseason looming right around the corner, locking in on the defensive side of things is an aspect of their game that the Sixers need to continue to make a priority.
The Sixers improved to 42-21 on the season, just half of a game back behind the Eastern Conference-leading Brooklyn Nets. With a couple of “easy” games up ahead in the schedule, Doc Rivers and the Sixers would obviously like to see themselves retake the lead in the East.
Philly is back in action on Sunday against the San Antonio Spurs, another opportunity to jump a half-game in the standings. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 PM.
