the philadelphia 76ers weren’t happy with the way they performed late in Thursday night’s game against the detroit pistons. As Sixers star center Joel Embiid was highly critical of his team’s overall performance leading up to facing the Atlanta Hawks, the Sixers knew they really had to do it on Saturday to silence the mounting criticism around them.
from the beginning, the sixers seemed renewed. Although they didn’t shoot the ball relatively well, Philly took a 28-15 lead in the first quarter. by halftime, the sixers were up 60-46.
Knowing they had to keep the ball rolling, Philadelphia put in another strong performance coming out of halftime when they outscored the Falcons by six points. With a 22-point lead going into the fourth quarter, the Sixers just had to avoid last year’s problems against Atlanta and keep their foot on the gas.
They did it with another great performance in the fourth quarter. With the Sixers leading by as much as 33 points, it was apparent that Atlanta began waving the white flag as they cleared out their bench. soon after, the sixers followed up before finally securing a 122-94 win, helping them move to 4-2 on the year.
As a team, the Sixers played a stellar game. Now, let’s look at individual performances.
the headlines
danny green
doc rivers said before the game that he was a little worried about danny green’s shooting problems to start the year. he didn’t take too many shots on Saturday, but managed to knock down two of his three attempts from the field. all of which came from beyond the arch. He hasn’t had a breakout game yet this season, but it looks like he’s working to get his offensive groove back.
tobias harris
The veteran striker was arguably the best player on the pitch on Saturday night. in 31 minutes of action he got a double-double adding 22 points and 10 rebounds. Harris has played very well thus far to start the season, and he continued to shine in Saturday night’s outing.
joel embiid
embiid was cleared for action earlier in the day, which was a good sign considering it’s been a game-time decision for the past four games. Coming off a 30-point game against Detroit, Embiid didn’t break his season high on Saturday but played well enough to help his team get the job done. he finished with 19 points on 13 shots and collected five rebounds.
seth curry
Going into Saturday’s game, Curry was shooting 62 percent from the field and 65 percent from deep. The veteran sharpshooter continued to be highly efficient for the Sixers on Saturday. Taking nine total shots, Curry drained 56 percent of his attempts, with two of his four 3-point attempts coming in. he finished the night with 15 points.
tyrese maxey
Saturday was one of maxey’s best outings of the year. he was expected to have his hands full with real young men on the defensive end, but he stood his ground. Offensively, Maxey knocked down six of his eight shots from the field and went 3-for-3 from the charity streak, scoring 16 points.
the bank
milton shake
Before Saturday’s game, Doc Rivers confirmed that Milton was on a minute restriction while he recovered from a sprained ankle. the veteran guard checked in for just under 19 minutes and put up 11 points and two assists on offense. As a team, the Sixers didn’t shoot very well from 3, and Milton’s struggles contributed to that. from deep, he made just one of his six 3-point attempts. Considering he’s returning from a weeks-long absence, Milton is expected to show some rust here and there at the moment.
georges niang
The veteran forward has been an excellent addition to the sixers this season. rivers played around with his lineups a bit and allowed niang to run with different groups. As for the shots, he struggled while knocking down just one of his six attempts from deep. however, as mentioned above, the sixers weren’t solid out of three overall. niang has proven to be a reliable shooter, so Saturday’s match was more of a fluke.
matisse thybulle
thybulle’s defense has been fantastic this year, as expected. offensively, he has been extremely quiet. however, on Saturday he had more of an impact on that side of the ball. he hesitated less than three and tried a few shots from deep. Although he only knocked down one of his 3-pointers, Thybulle finished the game with 11 points. he too had a game high of four steals and put together a sweet reel of featured blocks. overall thybulle was extremely solid on saturday.
furkan korkmaz
point guard furkan korkmaz was a fun experiment for the sixers. As he returns to his typical role, the Turkish sniper sees fewer shots. On Saturday, Korkmaz just couldn’t get it to work during his limited time on the court. In 18 minutes of action, he missed all three of his deep shots and collected just four points.
andré drummond
after having a good start to the year, drummond has been relatively quiet lately. however, he had a good comeback game after a disappointing performance against his former franchise. In 13 minutes, Drummond used up four of his six field goal attempts for eight points and collected five rebounds in all.
isaia joe
When shake milton returned to the lineup this week, isaiah joe found himself cut from the sixers’ rotation. It wasn’t surprising, considering the second-year guard had trouble finding his shot after a hot preseason. Due to Philly’s ability to gain a significant lead over the Hawks, Joe found some minutes on Saturday. Though he got only a four-minute at-bat, the former Arkansas standout made the most of that time on the floor by draining two of his three attempts for five points. While he likely won’t find himself back in the rotation after making the most of his garbage time, Joe once again proved to his coaching staff that he can warm up when given the opportunity. p>