Joel Embiid had 38 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots to lift the host Philadelphia 76ers past the Atlanta Hawks 125-114 on Friday.
Tyrese Maxey put up 30 points, De’Anthony Melton scored 15 and Tobias Harris contributed 13 for the Sixers, who have won two straight. Kelly Oubre Jr. added 11 points off the bench.
De’Andre Hunter scored 24 points and Bogdan Bogdanovic and Dejounte Murray each had 20 for the Hawks, who played without star guard Trae Young because of an illness. Saddiq Bey scored 16 and Clint Capela had 15 points and 16 rebounds for the Hawks, who have lost three in a row.
The Hawks pulled ahead 109-106 with 5:03 left before Philadelphia finished the game on a 19-5 run.
Despite appearing to tweak his knee, Embiid stayed active and knocked down a pair of free throws with 3:31 remaining to tie the game at 109. The Sixers moved in front with 3:15 to go following a dunk by Melton.
The Sixers then scored the next nine points to make it a 15-0 run, capped by Maxey’s 3-pointer with 1:22 remaining for a commanding 121-109 lead.
Philadelphia led by as many as 14 points in the first half. The Hawks closed within 57-51 after Bogdanovic made two 3-pointers 43 seconds apart.
Bogdanovic stayed hot with a corner trey and the Hawks trailed 57-56 with 3:28 remaining. On the Sixers’ next possession, Harris converted a three-point play.
Atlanta closed with a 12-2 run to take a 68-62 lead at halftime thanks in large part to 17 first-half points from Bogdanovic. Embiid led the Sixers with 17, all of which came in the first quarter.
The Hawks held an 81-78 lead with 6:07 left in the third following a dunk by Capela.
Maxey knocked down a corner trey with 5:00 remaining to put the Sixers ahead 85-83.
Hunter hit a short jumper with 3:15 to go and the Hawks led 88-87, but the Sixers held a slim 93-92 advantage at the end of the third. The Hawks had a chance to go ahead but Patty Mills’ 3-pointer rimmed out at the buzzer.
–Field Level Media