In a 104-95 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night, Trae Young made 26 points, Clint Capela did add 18 points and 20 rebounds, and the Atlanta Hawks stepped back late in the third quarter.
With 26 points and 13 rebounds, Joel Embiid led Philadelphia after missing three games due to the flu. It was his second straight double-double.
During Atlanta’s 12-0 run to end the third quarter, Young and Capela scored two baskets. Before the fourth period, with an 80-66 lead, the Hawks led by just two points.
Early in the fourth, rookie A.J. Griffin made a 3-pointer to increase Atlanta’s advantage to 89-74.
With 8:59 left, Philadelphia’s coach Doc Rivers, requested a timeout and restarted play shortly after. With less than five minutes left, Rivers removed his starters because he could not stem the Hawks’ surge.
With roughly two minutes left, the 76ers’ backups, paced by Montrezl Harrell, reduced Atlanta’s lead to seven points. At the last minute, Hawks coach Nate McMillan was compelled to bring out all five starters.
Both teams were able to make a comeback with their starters back on the field.
Dejounte Murray’s steal led to a jam by Onyeka Okongwu, increasing Atlanta’s advantage to 20 points at 94-74.
Until late in the third quarter, Young and Embiid were the only players to consistently score points (young made all ten free throws).
Each side struggled with bad shooting, especially from a distance, as the Hawks led 46-42 at the break. The Hawks made just one of their first half’s 11 3-point attempts, going 6 of 26 overall.
The 76ers made 2 of 14 3-point attempts in the first half and 6 of 30 overall.
For Embiid, the 76ers had trouble finding scoring support. Eleven of Philadelphia’s 20 points in the first quarter came from the center. P.J. Harris, Only Tucker, and two other 76ers players scored throughout the stanza.
After going scoreless until his layup knotted the game at 55 midways through the third, Georges Niang, who had a season-high 21 points in the 76ers’ 100-88 victory over Phoenix on Monday, entered the game.
With his three-point play in response, John Collins gave the Hawks an edge they wouldn’t lose.