First stunned, the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia was quick to come to their senses to cover their players with boos seconds after the final buzzer on Wednesday night. The boiling public of the “City of Brotherly Love” did not taste, to put it mildly, the total collapse of his team in the last quarter of game 5 to lose a game against Atlanta ( 106-109).
Trae Young and Lou Williams lead the charge
Guided by 17 points in 11 minutes from Embiid (37 points, 13 rebounds in the end), the Sixers dug a first hole at the end of the first quarter (38-24). “The Process” then found its unexpected evening lieutenant: Seth Curry, Stephen’s little brother. The youngest, a formidable shooter like his elder, signed the best game of his career by planting 36 points, 13 out of 19 in shooting.
0,3 %
The probability given to the Hawks of beating the Sixers by ESPN’s statistical tool when they were down 61-85 with 2’10” remaining in the third quarter.
The improbable comeback started in the third quarter with a first effort from Trae Young (39 points, record in the play-offs, and 7 assists on Wednesday evening). As an expert in turnarounds, Lou Williams then took over. Three years after making the biggest comeback in NBA history in the play-offs, with the Clippers against the Warriors, “Sweet Lou” has struck again.
His 13 points in six minutes in the third quarter air-conditioned an increasingly worried Wells Fargo Center. ” Lou was aggressive early in the fourth quarter on offense, and that kickstarted everything else. Without its impact, who knows if we would have returned? “, greeted Trae Young in a press conference.
On the Sixers side, the two Embiid lieutenants missed their match: Tobias Harris (4 points, 2 of 11 shooting) and Ben Simmons (8 points, 9 assists, 4 of 14 throwing). Atlanta didn’t ask for that much. The Hawks went ahead with 90 seconds remaining, on three free throws from Trae Young. A block from John Collins on Harris and a basket from Danilo Gallinari later and Philadelphia finds itself back against the wall on its way to the Conference final.
« Our substitutes struggled a lot after the break and in the fourth quarter we scored 19 points and conceded 40. So it’s my fault, it’s the players’ fault, it’s all our fault . We need to figure out how to get back up and force a match 7 here “, analyzed Doc Rivers, the coach of the Sixers. Atlanta can wrap up the series Friday night, this time at home, and reach its first conference final since 2015.