The No. 5 seed Hawks were overwhelmed by the No. 1 seed 76ers in Game 3 on the Eastern Conference semifinals, 127-111, Friday at State Farm Arena. Philly now leads the series 2-1.
Game 4 will be at 7:30 p.m. Monday at State Farm Arena.
Below are some takeaways from the loss:
1. In the third quarter, the Hawks looked overpowered. The 76ers starting the second half out on a 19-6 run (without missing a shot from the field) turned this game into a blowout pretty early, the Hawks unable to get a stop as Philly blew past defenders on the way to easy baskets. The Hawks lost the third quarter, 34-19, with the 76ers shooting 63.2% from the field and leading by 20 going into the fourth. Although the Hawks narrowed the deficit to 13 points a few times in the fourth, they couldn’t chip away more than that.
“We were not able to get stops and get out into transition to get anything easy,” interim coach Nate McMillan said. “So we’re taking the ball out of the net. We gave up a big third quarter and when their defense is set, they’re pretty good.”
2. The Hawks double-teamed Joel Embiid (who averaged 39.5 points in games 1 and 2) more intensely and limited him to 27 points, but having to send another body to defend him has its downsides, as well, as it means a teammate is open. Embiid finished with nine rebounds, eight assists and three blocks and is having ample success getting to the free-throw line (he went 12-for-16 in Game 3, 12-for-16 in Game 2 and 14-for-15 in Game 3). He’s also setting good screens for Philly, opening things up even more on offense, another way the 76ers’ size gives them an advantage.
Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@
Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@
“That’s a big screen Embiid is setting,” McMillan said. “We’re not getting through that screen. We’re getting hit on those screens and we’ve got to work harder to get through those screens and try to keep the ball in front. It was like a downhill game for us tonight where they were turning the corner on those screens with Embiid and (Ben) Simmons and basically just playing in our paint. So we’ve got to do a better job of giving help, being up on the screens, but the guards have to get through those screens.”
3. Several things went wrong for the Hawks in this game, but defense was probably the biggest issue. The 76ers had six players in double-figures (Embiid scored 27 points, Tobias Harris 22, Simmons 18, Furkan Korkmaz 14, Dwight Howard 12, Seth Curry 12) and finished with 66 points in the paint. Philadelphia shot 58.2% from the field and 47.6% from 3-point range.
4. The Hawks had six turnovers in the first eight minutes of play (finishing with 11 total, same as the 76ers) and could never really seem to settle down. Back in their own gym after splitting the first two games of the series on the road, they couldn’t find the success they had from 3-point range in Game 1, when they made a franchise playoff record 20 3′s. Offense wasn’t their main problem, but the Hawks went just 6-for-23 from 3-point range (26.1%). They tallied 15 assists to Philadelphia’s 28.
5. Trae Young led the Hawks with 28 points (9-for-17 field goals, 3-for-6 from 3-point range, 7-for-8 free throws) and eight assists, becoming the first player in NBA history to have 20-plus points and seven-plus assists in each of his first eight games in the postseason.
Stat of the game
34-19 (the margin of the third quarter, in Philly’s favor, as the Hawks faded)
Star of the game
Embiid (led the 76ers in scoring with 27 points, adding nine rebounds, eight assists and three blocks)
Quotable
“We let them get the shots that they would like to have normally, and that can’t happen, especially in a playoff game.” (John Collins on the 76ers’ offense thriving)
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