He excelled as a passer, dishing out 10 huge assists that often amounted to easy lob points for his big men. He got to the line, attempting 11 free throws. He did exactly what a superstar needs to do when his shots aren't falling in an elimination game. Trae Young shot 5-of-23 from the floor… and was the best player in this game. It's time to break that duo up, and with the way Simmons played against Atlanta, he's the one that needs to go. That they managed to still lose this series should be a referendum on the idea that Simmons and Joel Embiid can win a championship together. Philadelphia led Game 4 by 18 points and Game 5 by 26. That team was without two important young players in De'Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish. 1 seed playing against a team with almost no playoff experience. We'll probably learn the answers to those questions in the coming months and years. Maybe he needs more shooting around him, or a less ball-dominant center, or the right coach, or simply a change of scenery. Maybe Simmons can be salvaged on another team. When Doc Rivers was asked if he thought Simmons could be the point guard on a championship team, he responded "I don't know the answer to that right now." Now, after Game 7, the 76ers are unsure of what the future holds for their former No. Negotiations for James Harden went down to the wire. They had Jimmy Butler on the roster and apparently preferred Simmons. It's hard not to think of all of the different opportunities Philadelphia has had to replace Simmons as their primary ball-handler. More distressingly, he took only three shots in the fourth quarter in seven games against the Hawks. He attempted only four shots in this game and 45 in the series. But Matisse Thybulle missed one of the free throws generated by that poor decision. Hawks forward De'Andre Hunter missed his second straight game because of right knee soreness.Whether it was a fear of being fouled and having to take free throws or simply a poor decision, we can't say. Including the playoffs, the Hawks are 32-13 since then. The Hawks had a 14-20 record when coach Lloyd Pierce was fired and Nate McMillan took over on an interim basis. He came into the game averaging 30.2 points in the postseason.ĭanilo Gallinari had 21 points and nine rebounds, and Kevin Huerter added a playoff-career-high 20 for the fifth-seeded Hawks.īogdan Bogdanovic scored 14 points while Clint Capela had 10. Trae Young, who was the star of game one, finished with 21 points and 11 assists. After eliminating the Washington Wizards in five games, Philadelphia came into the series knowing that all-star Embiid would be playing with a small tear in his right knee. Game three in the best-of-seven series will be played Friday in Atlanta.Įmbiid is playing despite being diagnosed with a lateral meniscus tear in his knee. Tobias Harris tallied 22 points, Seth Curry finished with 21 and five threes, and Shake Milton came off the bench to score 14 points as the Sixers reserves scored 26 points in the second half in front of a crowd of 18,600 at Wells Fargo Center. Joel Embiid scored a career playoff high 40 points and added 13 rebounds as the top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers toppled the Atlanta Hawks 118-102 on Tuesday to level their Eastern Conference series at one game each. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP) Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers is guarded by Clint Capela of the Atlanta Hawks during the first quarter during Game Two of the Eastern Conference second round series at Wells Fargo Center on Jin Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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