After the Atlanta Hawks shocked everybody by stealing Game 1 on the road in Philadelphia, the 76ers came out hot in Game 2 of this NBA playoff series. Philly came out and took an early 33-20 first quarter lead over the Hawks, but then momentum started to shift in the second quarter when the Hawks started knocking down shots and getting inside the heads of the 76ers.
From knocking down some threes, to getting to the free-throw line to even getting inside Joel Embiid’s head and having him pick up a technical foul for shoving Danilo Gallinari, things were not looking good for the 76ers heading into the half as they now led by just two points.
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The second-half of this game though, specifically the fourth quarter, was all Philadelphia and Joel Embiid. The 76ers outscored the Hawks 61-47 in the second-half to win Game 2 of this series 118-102 and even things up at 1-1 heading to Atlanta for the next two games. Joel Embiid had another fantastic game, scoring 40 points and grabbing 13 rebounds and was the main catalyst once again in Philly’s offensive onslaught.
Tobias Harris and Seth Curry were also really good for the Sixers in this game, scoring 22 and 21 points respectively, but it was Philly’s defense that really got the job done. After allowing 128 points in Game 1, they came back in Game 2 and only allowed the Hawks to score 102 total points.
While the Hawks are still technically “in control” of this series with them having the home court advantage right now, it seems like momentum has shifted back into the hands of the 1-seed in the Eastern Conference. This is going to continue to be a really hard fought series and the next two games in Atlanta will tell us a lot about not only who will win this series, but if either team has what it takes to win the Eastern Conference!
With that said, let’s dive right in and take a look at three key takeaways from Philadelphia’s Game 2 victory over Atlanta.