Trae Young led the Atlanta Hawks to a 128-124 Game 1 upset over the Philadelphia 76ers despite the return of Joel Embiid.
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The Philadelphia 76ers and Atlanta Hawks tipped off their second-round series at the Wells Fargo Center on Sunday. If Game 1 was any indication, the series promises to be a lot tougher for both teams. The Hawks ultimately pulled out a 128-124 victory thanks to Trae Young, but it wasn’t easy.
What an ending. pic.twitter.com/EDGz45brNl
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) June 6, 2021
The Hawks dominated the first half of the contest with a 20-point lead into halftime. The Sixers made a brilliant comeback to cut the lead all the way down to three in the closing minutes of the contest. Despite being outscored 70-54 in the second half, Atlanta was able to hold on for the win.
Trae Young led the way for Atlanta again. Young lit the Sixers up for 25 points and seven assists in the first half alone, and finished the game with 35 points and 10 assists. In the process, he became the first Hawks player ever to record 35 points and 10 assists in a playoff game. He also got some major help from John Collins and Bogdan Bogdanovic, as that duo combined for 42 points and eight rebounds.
One huge question regarding the series was if Joel Embiid would play. He did, despite suffering a small tear in his meniscus against the Wizards. Embiid started for the Sixers, played a game-high 38 minutes and scored a game-high 39 points to go along with nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks. His production wasn’t quite enough to help Philadelphia pull out a win in this one.
Young came out of the gate in attack mode in Game 1, and his early production set the tone for what turned out to be a big win for the Hawks. Young had 12 points and five assists in the first quarter, and followed that up with 13 points and two more assists in the second quarter.
? @TheTraeYoung in Game 1:
35 PTS ? 10 AST
Game 2 – Tue, 7:30pm/et, TNT#TrueToAtlanta #NBAPlayoffs #ThatsGame pic.twitter.com/oPUfmhoUfD
— NBA (@NBA) June 6, 2021
He continues to make NBA history with his play in this postseason. Not only did he become the first Hawks player ever to record 35 points and 10 assists in a playoff game, he also became just the second player in NBA history to score 30 points in each of his first four career playoff road games. The first? Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
The big man Embiid suffered a minor meniscus tear in his right knee during Game 4 against the Wizards.
Embiid looked a whole lot like his usual MVP standard. He played more minutes (38) than anyone else in the game, and also scored more points (39) than anyone else. Embiid shot 57 percent from the floor, grabbed nine rebounds and added four assists and three blocks. It’s worth noting he didn’t appear too hampered by the knee injury.
? @JoelEmbiid dropped an #NBAPlayoffs career-high 39 PTS today. #ThatsGame @sixers will look to even the series Tuesday at 7:30 PM ET on TNT. pic.twitter.com/7AcnbexbUH
— NBA (@NBA) June 6, 2021
The fact Embiid was able to play and looked largely healthy while doing so was one of the major positives for the Sixers in Game 1.
The series resumes on Tuesday for Game 2.
