Hawks rally past Sixers in Game 4 to level series

Trae Young collected 25 points and a career-high-tying 18 assists to fuel the host Atlanta Hawks to a 103-100 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Monday, June 14 (Tuesday, June 15, Manila time).

The Hawks overcame an 18-point, second-quarter deficit and evened the best-of-seven series at two wins apiece.

With Atlanta nursing a 101-100 lead, Philadelphia forced the Hawks into a turnover before taking a timeout with 16.6 seconds to play. Joel Embiid, however, failed to convert on a drive to the basket with 8.8 seconds remaining to fall to 0-for-12 from the floor in the second half.

Young subsequently made two free throws to give the Hawks a three-point cushion with 6.6 seconds left. An off-balanced three-point attempt from Seth Curry caromed off the back of the rim to end the game.

Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 22 points for fifth-seeded Atlanta. Hawks’ John Collins (14 points, 12 rebounds) and Clint Capela (12 points, 13 boards) each posted double-doubles.

Tobias Harris had 20 points and Embiid recorded 17 points and 21 rebounds for the top-seeded 76ers, who were outscored 54-38 in the second half.

Ben Simmons had 11 points, 12 rebounds, 9 assists, and 2 blocks on the same day that he was named to the 2020-21 NBA All-Defensive First Team.

Embiid made a pair of foul shots to give Philadelphia a 95-94 lead with 3:23 remaining in the fourth quarter before Furkan Korkmaz extended the advantage by draining a deep three-pointer.

Collins converted from beyond the arc on the next possession and Young sank a floater with 1:17 left to regain the lead for Atlanta.

The Hawks chipped away at their early deficit before Bogdanovic drained a three-pointer to give them an 83-82 lead early in the fourth quarter. Shake Milton scored all 8 of his points in a 77-second span to hand the 76ers a 92-88 advantage, but a Young floater, a defensive goaltending call and a Capela alley-oop dunk regained the lead for Atlanta.

Philadelphia overcame an ice-cold shooting performance to start the game before scoring 24 of the final 34 points to take a 28-20 lead at the end of the first quarter. Curry sank two three-pointers en route to scoring 8 points for the 76ers, while Bogdanovic had 10 points to pace Atlanta.

Embiid briefly went to the locker room during the start of the second quarter before his return ignited a surge by Philadelphia. Embiid made a three-pointer shortly after re-entering the game and Harris converted from beyond the arc on consecutive possessions to highlight a 17-3 run by the 76ers.

Philadelphia shot 52% from the floor (25-of-48) and 64% from three-point range (7-of-11) to seize a 62-49 lead at halftime.

For the game, the 76ers outshot the Hawks 44% to 37% percent from the floor and 41% (11-of-27) to 30% (12-of-40) from beyond the arc. – Rappler.com