Joel Embiid has been dominant in this series for the Philadelphia 76ers, and his supporting cast has been almost as good.
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The Philadelphia 76ers have reclaimed home-court advantage in their best-of-seven series with the Atlanta Hawks following their 127-111 win in Game 3 on Friday night. Joel Embiid was masterful for the 76ers as he finished the win with a team-high 27 points. He had plenty of help as Philadelphia had five other players also score in double figures with Tobias Harris leading the way with 22 points.
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Atlanta Hawks | 06.11.21
? presented by @PALottery pic.twitter.com/kcZrpp8bOd
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) June 12, 2021
On the other side, Trae Young led the Hawks with 28 points but, in the end, his contributions combined with the 59 points that John Collins, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Danilo Gallinari totaled weren’t enough to come away with the win at State Farm Arena.
If you didn’t know that Joel Embiid had suffered a small meniscus tear in the first round, you would never be able to tell by the way he’s playing. He put up 39 points and nine rebounds in Game 1. He followed that up with 40 points and 13 rebounds in Game 2, and then recorded 27 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and three blocks in Game 3.
A bully. pic.twitter.com/OLKzdQKl65
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) June 12, 2021
The Hawks have no answer for him, and he’s showing exactly why he finished second in MVP voting this season. He’s become such a gifted offensive player that opponents often have no choice but to foul him.
With Furkan Korkmaz leading the way, the Sixers’ bench put on a show, combining for 48 points on a stellar 17-of-28 from the field. They outscored the Hawks’ reserves by 16 points, which just so happened to be the exact margin of victory for the Sixers.
Furkan Korkmaz provides the bench spark in Q1 for Philly! ?
11 PTS | 3-3 FGM | 2-2 3PM@sixers up 8.. #NBAPlayoffs on ESPN pic.twitter.com/ZfntEa8zgn
— NBA (@NBA) June 12, 2021
The Hawks were able to steal Game 1 of this series in large part because of a big performance from their bench, but the Sixers have flipped the script in the last two games.
The Hawks are a solid team with a number of good offensive players, but they just don’t have enough talent to hang with the Sixers, who were one of the best teams in the league all season long.
Philadelphia 76ers now have an opportunity to push Atlanta’s backs against the wall if they’re able to pick up another win in Game 4 on Monday.
