It all came down to game seven. Winner moves on to the Eastern Conference Finals, the loser packs for vacation. The fans at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center, at the end of this game as the Atlanta Hawks were closing the game out, fans were throwing bottles onto the court. I see that Philadelphia and New York fans are still the worst, and didn’t become calmer due to the pandemic. Being away from the arenas must have fueled the flame a little more, as Trae Young gets spit on by a New York fan and Philadelphia fans throw bottles when their team lose. Stay classy New York and Philly!!!
On a night where PG Young didn’t have his best game, but still put up 21 points on 8 assists, other players stepped up. But when the Hawks needed a shot late, Young delivered a 3-pointer to go up 93-87. The other players that stepped up where both F John Collins and SG Kevin Huerter. Collins stepped up again with another double, double. He scored 14 points and stole 16 possessions away from the Sixers with 16 rebounds. Huerter garnered 27 points and took seven rebounds.
When the clocked melted away to triple zero, the Hawks were victorious for the third time at Philadelphia in these playoffs with the score 103-96. When the media said it couldn’t be done, the Hawks did it anyway by beating the #4 NY Knicks and the #1 seed Philadelphia 76ers. Now anything could happen. These Hawks may not get past the Milwaukee Bucks, but it has been a hell of a ride that no one expected when the team was 14-20 and Coach Lloyd Pierce was fired. This team now has attitude and they do not care if they get pushed around or not, they will push back.
The Sixers are a team that plays up tempo and fast and the Hawks matched that tempo by steals and fast breaks to the rim. Playing the boards and grabbing the rebounds was a priority for this team and Collins has led the way so far in this playoffs with 70 rebounds.
The Hawks enter the Eastern Conference Finals winning eight games, losing four as the Bucks are 8-3, having played one less playoff game. Both overall regular season record was:
Hawks: 41-31
Bucks: 46-26
Former Head Coach Mike Budenholzer is the head coach of Milwaukee. Coach Bud was the Hawks coach in 2014-15, last time the Hawks went to the Eastern Conference Finals with a record of 60-22. Should be a fun series to watch.
Header photo courtesy of Peachtree Hoops
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