The Atlanta Hawks were in action on Sunday evening to face the Philadelphia 76ers. After a big win on Friday against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Hawks were looking to continue that momentum against another team that has played well this season. The Hawks were once again without Kristaps Porzingis as he deals with an illness.
As for the 76ers, they were able to get Joel Embiid and VJ Edgecombe back in the starting lineup as they’ve dealt with injuries.
The Hawks lead the league in assists, and there’s no surprise when they’re making plays early in the game like this.
Zaccharie Risacher made his presence known early as well, getting back on defense and blocking Embiid at the rim.
Dyson Daniels took his chances against Andre Drummond in the paint and was rewarded with the bucket, plus the foul.
The perimeter shot was not falling for either team, but especially the Hawks, who went 0-for-9 from the 3-point line. Despite the poor shooting, the Hawks only trailed 29-25 going into the second.
It was the Mouhamed Gueye show in the first half of the second half, as he made plays on both sides of the ball. To start, Gueye hit a 3-pointer to cut down the Hawks’ deficit. Soon after, he got a block on defense and helped the Hawks get an easy dunk on the other end.
Gueye didn’t stop there, and after a Keaton Wallace 3-pointer, he got a putback dunk with his left hand.
The game tight throughout the entire second, and the Hawks kept making plays to stay close. Onyeka Okongwu and Dyson Daniels showed off their chemistry on this assist for an easy dunk.
The Hawks took the lead at one point, and then the 76ers regained the lead, and then the Hawks took it back late in the quarter. The 76ers unfortunately won the battle, and going into halftime, the Hawks trailed 58-57.
Going into the third, the Hawks kept working to get easy buckets, which included this one from Johnson to Risacher.
The ball movement continued and never stopped, and they made this look like a highlight play for Risacher to tie the game. Not too soon after, the Hawks took the lead after Alexander-Walker knocked down a 3-pointer.
The Hawks ended up getting into an offensive slump after they took the lead, as the 76ers easily stormed back and took the lead, extending it to as much as nine points. The Hawks got back into it with a few 3-pointers, courtesy of Vit Krejci and Alexander-Walker.
It went from a nine-point game to a one-point game that quickly, but the 76ers were able to hit some shots late to give themselves an 89-83 lead going into the fourth.
The Hawks kept their foot on the pedal early in the fourth, and it started with a Wallace 3-pointer.
Alexander-Walker once again helped the Hawks grab the lead.
The Hawks kept turning defense into offense in the fourth, which helped them to keep the lead for the most part. Alexander-Walker continued to come up big in the second half, and he knocked down a 3-pointer down the stretch.
Alexander-Walker then found Johnson for this tough bucket in the paint.
Daniels got a big offensive board that he didn’t have to do much work for, and went back up with the layup.
The Hawks and 76ers had a stretch for about two minutes where neither could buy a bucket, and it got more dramatic after every miss. The Hawks were able to come out of that stretch with the lead still, and they were able to extend their lead just a little more.
The 76ers played the foul game late, and the Hawks missed some free throws here and there, which kept the game alive. After a missed free throw from the 76ers, they were able to get the rebound, and Tyrese Maxey hit a deep 3-pointer to tie the game. The Hawks had a shot to win it, but Daniels’ layup rimmed off and the game headed into overtime.
Risacher started overtime with a huge dunk in transition.
Both teams traded buckets throughout the extra period, and even after Johnson hit this 3-pointer, the 76ers had an answer.
With 14 seconds left, the Hawks trailed by two with the ball, and Johnson got a shot at tying it but missed. The Hawks fouled, Maxey went to the free-throw line, but missed both of them. With four seconds left, the Hawks still had another chance to either tie or win the game.
Johnson got another chance, and this time, he drew a foul to go to the free-throw line. He made both of them to tie the game with 0.3 seconds left, the 76ers couldn’t get a shot off, and the game went into double overtime. Alexander-Walker eclipsed the 30-point part with a 3-pointer.
The 76ers of course had an answer, but the Hawks were finally able to get some stops, and also a few huge buckets from Johnson to give them a six-point lead at one point, and the first 40-point game of his career.
The Hawks were able to close the game out this time, and walked away with the win.
Johnson finished with 41 points, 14 points, and seven assists, Alexander-Walker finished 34 points, and Daniels finished with 17 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists.
The Hawks will be back in action tomorrow against the Detroit Pistons.