Joel Embiid, Sixers discuss almost blowing 27-point lead vs. Hawks

PHILADELPHIA–The Philadelphia 76ers were rolling at home on Saturday evening. They led the Atlanta Hawks by 27 in the third quarter as they were playing well on both ends of the floor.

The ball was hopping around, they were getting into the paint, they were taking smart shots, and they were able to find their groove on the defensive end. The Hawks looked dazed and confused and it was looking like it would be an easy win.

Instead, the Hawks started chipping away. They were getting to the free-throw line, they were getting open 3s and knocking those down, and they were also stopping the Sixers on the other end. The 27-point lead was cut to six with 2:28 to play before Philadelphia hung on for a 121-109 win.

“We gave up a lot of 3s,” said Joel Embiid. “At one point, we fouled about five times in a row. They were in the penalty, they just kept going to the free-throw line, and offensively, I think the ball just started sticking too much, but it was really defensively. We just kept fouling play after play, they hit a couple 3s, so we just gotta stay locked in.”

Atlanta only made six 3-pointers on the night and four after halftime.

Embiid had 42 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists in a dominant night for him while playing 40 minutes. They needed all of that in order to knock off the Hawks who always seem to give the Sixers a hard time when trailing by a large deficit.

“We stopped getting stops,” said assistant coach Sam Cassell who was filling in postgame for Doc Rivers who had a personal matter to attend to. “I think they scored 10 consecutive points against us and most of them layups. We decided to take the easy points away, put together some offense for ourselves, and that’s how we were successful at the end of the game.”

The Sixers were able to hang on for a much-needed win, but they have got to hang onto these leads. This should have been an easy night where Embiid should have gotten some rest and not play 40 minutes.

Instead, he had to play the entire fourth quarter as Paul Reed was ineffective in his minutes out on the floor. Philadelphia still needs to learn how to close games out as they continue to grow as a team.