PHILADELPHIA – – Trae Young hit early on Philly who had the Hawks in control of Game 1 and ended the win with a lob to John Collins for a one hand jam.
Collins punched in the air in celebration – and the Hawks took a moment to expire after a big lead was nearly wasted.
“Thank goodness we were up 20,” Hawks goaltender Kevin Huerter said.
Young scored 25 of his 35 points in the first half as Atlanta got rid of Joel Embiid and a hostile crowd and held on to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 128-124 on Sunday in their opener in the semi. -final of the Eastern Conference.
“Confidence in all of these guys is high,” Young said. “We are here to play for each other. Here I am having fun. Everyone is locked up.
Embiid lifted a hammer as he returned from a one-game absence with a cartilage tear in his right knee. He went out with WWE Triple H Star to a roaring ovation.
Young and the Hawks had the Sixers down for the vault count and led by 26 points.
The Sixers – playing in front of their biggest crowd of the season at 18,624 – refused to give way easily at home and Embiid scored back-to-back baskets that put them close to three with 1:01 left.
Bogdan Bogdanovic, who missed all three games of the seasonal series against the 76ers with a knee injury, stabilized the Hawks when he buried a 3 that gave them some breathing space.
He even put his fingers to his lips and silenced the boisterous crowd for good measure.
“He’s a big shooter,” Huerter said.
It wasn’t the only long shot that went off successfully.
Starting as a five-point underdog, the Hawks made 14 of their first 18 buckets and were the aggressors, eagerly seizing their moment on national television. Young, much like he did in five games against the Knicks when he was averaging 29.2 points, thrived in the spotlight. Despite all the attention paid to Embiid, All-Star Ben Simmons, and Sixers seeds, Young was the must-see player in Game 1 – as in, he rarely did with the ball, and all eyes were on him.
The Hawks used a 17-0 run in the first half – they hit 20 3s overall – and Young was shaking, waving and playing with the Sixers and the crowd. Young bowed during the deciding game to the New York crowd who had taunted him every game. He struck the pose in Philly – he held his right arm high and pointed towards the basket for several seconds which followed a 27-footer he buried to close the first half.
“They hit us in the mouth to start the game,” 76ers coach Doc Rivers said. “It was the most physical team. It was the most aggressive team. They played harder early on.
Danny Green couldn’t hang on as a main defenseman on Young instead of Simmons, an NBA Defensive Player of the Year candidate.
Simmons said he wanted his shot for a full 40 minutes on Young and the Hawks expected a change in strategy.
“Eventually, he’s going to see a guy who’s hot for a while,” said coach Nate McMillan.
The 6-foot-1 led the Hawks to the playoffs for the first time since 2017 and craved the pressure that comes with playing big playoff games in big markets.
A Knicks fan spat at Young during the first round series. In Philly, he heard “Trae is bald! Trae is bald! chants that faded with each pointer at 3 – he hit four 3s and got 10 assists. He waved to fans with a 3 in the third quarter that cut off a small Sixers run.
Embiid answered whether or not he would perform when he stepped out for the pre-match presentations by matching t-shirts with the star wrestler – Triple H’s D-Generation X faction was the favorite of Embiid – and sold out savage as he held the hammer high above his head.
Embiid did his part with 39 points and nine rebounds in 38 minutes after suffering a small side meniscus tear in his right knee last Monday against Washington. Embiid, who didn’t win Game 5, sometimes winced against the Hawks and hit the ground hard when he threw himself at Collins and fouled him.
“Playing on a torn meniscus is not easy,” Embiid said. “The pain is going to be there. It’s normal. It’s about managing it. “
Tobias Harris had 20 points and 10 rebounds. Simmons scored 17 points and struggled from the free throw line again, going 3 for 10.
Bogdanovic and Collins each scored 21 points for the Hawks.
Game 2 takes place Tuesday in Philadelphia.
The Sixers made Washington’s job easier in five games and with home ground throughout the Eastern Playoffs, a potential date with Brooklyn seemed in the cards. Sixers fans chanted “We want Brooklyn” as they clinched a Game 5 victory last week.
But they forgot about Trae.
At just 14-20 when the Hawks fired coach Lloyd Pierce on March 1, the Hawks are 33-12 since. They had the best record in the East after McMillan came in, and Young said he was not happy with just one series victory.
The Sixers made them work for it in a furious fourth – but the Hawks held on and made Atlanta sports fans feel good on Sunday.
“Anything individual is for the birds,” Young said. “All we care about is victory.”
ADVICE
Hawks: F De’Andre Hunter sat down with a sore right knee. … Young became the second player in NBA history to score 30 points in each of his first four career playoff road games. He joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the 1970 Milwaukee Bucks. … The Hawks scored a playoff-high in points in any half (74) and their 13 3-pointers in the first was a record high. team for a playoff half-time.
76ers: Were a terrible 24 of 35 from the free throw line. … You missed 19 of 29 3-points.
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