Sixers Recover Home-Field Advantage, Defeat Hawks
The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Atlanta Hawks, 127-111, at StateFarm Arena on Friday evening in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
The 76ers knew they had to win at least one game in Atlanta to recover the home-field advantage, and they didn't waste time to accomplish that feat thanks to a dominant performance on rival soil. Philadelphia quickly got control of the contest and jumped out to a 28-20 lead following the first quarter, but the Hawks tried to close the gap following a 36-33 score in the second quarter. The Sixers held a five-point lead at the break, but they ran away with the contest in the third quarter after scoring 34 points and limiting the Hawks to just 19, making it a 20-point contest with just 12 minutes left on the clock. Even though the Hawks won the final game by four points (36-32), it was just too late to mount a comeback and Philadelphia won with ease, recovering the home-field advantage and now they're just two wins away from reaching the Conference Finals.
Joel Embiid led the Sixers in scoring once again, as he ended close to a triple-double after posting 27 points with nine rebounds and eight assists, while Tobias Harris chipped in with 22 points, eight boards and five dimes. No other Philadelphia player scored more than 20 points, but Ben Simmons chipped in with 18 points and seven assists, while Seth Curry contributed 12 points. Furkan Korkmaz (14 points) and Dwight Howard (12 points) looked good off the bench as well.
Trae Young led the Hawks with 28 points and eight assists, but he lacked company on the offensive end of the court. John Collins had 23 points, while Clint Capela pulled down 16 rebounds while scoring eight points. Bogdan Bogdanovic had 19 points, and Danilo Gallinari contributed 18 points while coming off the bench.
The 76ers knew they had to win at least one game in Atlanta to recover the home-field advantage, and they didn't waste time to accomplish that feat thanks to a dominant performance on rival soil. Philadelphia quickly got control of the contest and jumped out to a 28-20 lead following the first quarter, but the Hawks tried to close the gap following a 36-33 score in the second quarter. The Sixers held a five-point lead at the break, but they ran away with the contest in the third quarter after scoring 34 points and limiting the Hawks to just 19, making it a 20-point contest with just 12 minutes left on the clock. Even though the Hawks won the final game by four points (36-32), it was just too late to mount a comeback and Philadelphia won with ease, recovering the home-field advantage and now they're just two wins away from reaching the Conference Finals.
Joel Embiid led the Sixers in scoring once again, as he ended close to a triple-double after posting 27 points with nine rebounds and eight assists, while Tobias Harris chipped in with 22 points, eight boards and five dimes. No other Philadelphia player scored more than 20 points, but Ben Simmons chipped in with 18 points and seven assists, while Seth Curry contributed 12 points. Furkan Korkmaz (14 points) and Dwight Howard (12 points) looked good off the bench as well.
Trae Young led the Hawks with 28 points and eight assists, but he lacked company on the offensive end of the court. John Collins had 23 points, while Clint Capela pulled down 16 rebounds while scoring eight points. Bogdan Bogdanovic had 19 points, and Danilo Gallinari contributed 18 points while coming off the bench.
Suns Defeat Nuggets in Game 3, 116-102
The Phoenix Suns defeated the host Denver Nuggets, 116-102, in Game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals at Ball Arena on Friday.
Phoenix led for all but one minute in this game, holding the lead for the final 45 minutes. That can be attributed to a 37-27 first quarter, with the Suns putting the game away behind a 31-21 third quarter. That allowed Phoenix to hold a double-digit lead for the entirety of the second half, with Denver never even having a shot to tie the game after the first quarter. The Suns shot 53 percent from the field, 46 percent from three-point range and 90 percent from the free-throw line while holding the Nuggets to 41 percent from the field, 34 percent from long range and 63 percent from the charity stripe. They also out-assisted them, 26-21.
The Suns (3-0) were led by Devin Booker, tallying 28 points, six rebounds and four assists. Chris Paul amassed 27 points, six rebounds, eight assists and three steals. Jae Crowder totaled 14 points, three rebounds and four assists. Deandre Ayton had 10 points, 15 rebounds and two assists while Mikal Bridges generated 11 points, two rebounds and three steals.
The Nuggets (0-3) were led by Nikola Jokic, collecting 32 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists. Michael Porter Jr finished with 15 points, five rebounds and two steals. Monte Morris led the bench with 21 points and five assists. Will Barton also provided 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists off the bench as well.
Game 4 will be in Denver. The Nuggets will look to extend the series but no team has come back from an 0-3 deficit in NBA history. In total, they are 0-162 in those series.
Phoenix led for all but one minute in this game, holding the lead for the final 45 minutes. That can be attributed to a 37-27 first quarter, with the Suns putting the game away behind a 31-21 third quarter. That allowed Phoenix to hold a double-digit lead for the entirety of the second half, with Denver never even having a shot to tie the game after the first quarter. The Suns shot 53 percent from the field, 46 percent from three-point range and 90 percent from the free-throw line while holding the Nuggets to 41 percent from the field, 34 percent from long range and 63 percent from the charity stripe. They also out-assisted them, 26-21.
The Suns (3-0) were led by Devin Booker, tallying 28 points, six rebounds and four assists. Chris Paul amassed 27 points, six rebounds, eight assists and three steals. Jae Crowder totaled 14 points, three rebounds and four assists. Deandre Ayton had 10 points, 15 rebounds and two assists while Mikal Bridges generated 11 points, two rebounds and three steals.
The Nuggets (0-3) were led by Nikola Jokic, collecting 32 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists. Michael Porter Jr finished with 15 points, five rebounds and two steals. Monte Morris led the bench with 21 points and five assists. Will Barton also provided 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists off the bench as well.
Game 4 will be in Denver. The Nuggets will look to extend the series but no team has come back from an 0-3 deficit in NBA history. In total, they are 0-162 in those series.