After a poor defeat to the Bobcats a few days ago, Sixers fans expected the worst heading into a road game against a team in the thick of the race for home court in the first round. Instead, supporters were treated to the best 12 minutes of basketball they’ve seen all season. The Sixers tallied their highest-scoring quarter of the season to win the first 40-26, and cruise to a eventual 101-90 victory over the Hawks.
In that first frame, Philadelphia shot 72.7% from the field, not only swinging the ball well to find the open man on the perimeter, but relentlessly attacking the paint as well. The Sixers are not known as a great shooting team, but it’s funny how much better they look when they’re swinging the ball around, rather than taking contested jumpers. The Sixers’ big men got things rolling in this one as Thad Young and Spencer Hawes combined to score the team’s first 15 points. From then on, Evan Turner also got into the action as his outside shot was working, hitting two threes on his way to 10 points in the first.
Despite an early cushion, fans knew the game was not over after seeing the Sixers cough up a 16-point lead to Charlotte. However, on this night, Philadelphia kept playing good ball with Atlanta never getting closer than 9 points the rest of the way. Turner continued his strong play, finishing with a game-high 24 points on 9-15 shooting, and 11 rebounds. The other members of the front court also recorded double-doubles; Hawes ended his night with 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Thad Young accrued 14 points and 13 boards. The team did an excellent job on the defensive glass, limiting Atlanta to just 6 offensive rebounds.
In the an otherwise impressive game, there were two sore spots for Philadelphia. First, the struggles continued for Jrue Holiday, who went 2-3 from the floor in the first quarter, but just 1-11 the rest of the way to finish 3-14 for 9 points. For the team to eventually get back to a place among Eastern Conference contenders (i.e. able to beat anyone not Miami), the Sixers need to do it behind the efforts of Holiday, not in spite of them. His recent struggles are very concerning after such a promising first half of the season. The other issue is minor as Dorell Wright sat out with an elbow injury, which led to 14 minutes for Nick Young. Swaggy P was back to his chucking way, missing 5 of his 7 shots, many of them those the inefficient long jumpers he loves so much. It does not ultimately matter in this lost season, but the less Nick Young the better, from a purely aesthetic perspective as a fan viewing from home.
The Sixers have a quick turnaround as they travel to Miami to face a Heat team resting its stars down the stretch. A new Sixers winning streak may depend on just how many players suit up for Miami.
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