The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Atlanta Hawks in their third preseason game on Monday night by a final score of 104-89. The matchup was marked by inefficiency and turnovers by both teams, particularly in the first half, and was marred by an injury to Sixers star Paul George early in the second quarter.
Here’s a breakdown of Monday night’s action:
Sixers/Hawks postgame breakdown
Despite having nearly a fourth of the Sixer’s points by halftime, Tyrese Maxey went just 4-13 from the field and a dismal 1-7 from deep in that stretch. Early on, Paul George had more turnovers (two) and fouls (two) than three-pointers made (one of three attempts) in 12 minutes of play before heading into the locker room at halftime after a hard fall and unfortunate knee hyperextension. Thankfully, the Hawks had similarly bad luck—Trae Young alone had a whopping nine turnovers to just ten points.
Still, the Sixers got plenty of things right. The rebounding effort was absolutely there. Andre Drummond and Guerschon Yabusele notched 11 rebounds each, and the latter saw his first minutes as a power forward.
Their ability to anticipate the ball bodes very well for the second unit’s ability to maintain possession in non-Embiid minutes. KJ Martin was also quietly a major contributor in the Sixers’ efforts to maintain possession – he only grabbed three boards but was excellent at tipping shots and tapping out loose balls.
Caleb Martin—possibly making a statement after coming off the bench—was particularly impressive. His passes were fluid, his defense tough, and he looked like he’d been playing in Philadelphia for years. He capped off his night with this filthy chase-down block on Hawks’ first-overall pick, Zaccharie Risacher. Perhaps a bit much for preseason, but a a solid effort nonetheless.
As a team, the Sixers did a nice job balancing shot creation and taking open looks (albeit not always making them) with good old-fashioned physical toughness. While the shots just weren’t falling for either team—Maxey and Kelly Oubre made just three of their combined 17 three-point attempts, and the Hawks’ starters went 5-14 from deep—the Sixers simply fought harder to get the ball back. In a season that will be marked by Joel Embiid’s heavy load management, that physicality will be essential for the rest of the team.
The Sixers rounded off their night with a pair of beautiful threes from Ricky Council IV (who, by the way, did an excellent job clamping down on Trae Young). They’ll look to continue their winning streak on Wednesday at home as they take on the Brooklyn Nets.
