Atlanta Hawks Take Care of Depleted Philadelphia 76ers Squad To Win Their Third Straight Game

The Hawks are now 35-36 after their victory over the Sixers and their next opponent is the Houston Rockets

Mar 23, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Jared Butler (12) shoots past Atlanta Hawks forward Dominick Barlow (0) in the second quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Hawks were on the second night of a back-to-back after beating the Golden State Warriors in an impressive win on Saturday so naturally, a matchup against the 76ers was a natural let down spot. After all, Atlanta lost to Brooklyn last Sunday in similar circumstances so it would not have been shocking to see the Hawks in a fight against Philadlephia tonight.

In business-like fashion though, the Hawks got the win, leading by as many as 27 tonight vs a shorthanded 76ers team. They never really let the Sixers have a chance tonight and won their third straight game to move them to 35-36 this season and keep them in position to land the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference.

It was another surgical performance for the Hawks on offense tonight. Atlanta's offense has been playing at a high-level over the past two weeks and against a 76ers team that should not have stopped them, they did what they should have done. They shot 55% from the field tonight and 46% from three. Atlanta was led by Trae Young (28 points and 12 assists on 7-12 shooting), but they got standout performances from a number of players, including Zaccharie Risacher (22 points on 9-15 shooting), Dominick Barlow (13 points and 10 rebounds) and Georges Niang (20 points. The Hawks bench (54 points tonight) continues to be one of the best in the NBA. The one flaw tonight for the Hawks on offense and in general was turnovers. Atlanta committed 16 turnovers and the 76ers scored 27 points off of those turnovers, which prevented the game from being a total blowout.

Atlanta finished averaging 1.27 points per possession tonight, a 127. 3 offensive rating, and a true shooting percentage of 68.3%, which is their second best mark of the season. The way this offense is playing right now, they can be dangerous down the stretch.

The Hawks defense was solid tonight, holding Philadelphia to 44% from the field and 32% from three. Quentin Grimes (26 points, six assists, five rebounds) continues to put up big nights for Philadelphia and Justin Edwards had 22 points.

The Hawks win tonight moves them to 35-36 and keeps them in position for the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference. They will now go on the road for the next three games and that starts on Tuesday with a trip to Houston, who is arguably the hottest team in the NBA.

The Hawks kept their same starting five tonight vs Philadelphia. Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Mouhamed Gueye, and Onyeka Okongwu.

The Hawks's offense has been among the best in the NBA over the past 10 games and they continued that in the first quarter and the first half tonight. It was not just one person in the first half for Atlanta, but they had a number of guys contributing.

After a rocky start, the Hawks started to put some distance between themselves and Philadelphia. Georges Niang came off the bench and had nine points, continuing his streak of hot shooting, and the Hawks shot 57% in the opening quarter, including 44% (4-9) from three. They took an eleven-point lead into the second quarter, 35-24.

Atlanta led by as many as 18 in the second quarter, but the 76ers got big quarters from Quentin Grimes and Justin Edwards, who had seven points each. Not only did Grimes and Edwards get hot in the second quarter, but Atlanta had a turnover problem, committing six in the second quarter alone and having 10 in the first half. What looked like an Atlanta blowout turned into just a 12-point lead at halftime.

Atlanta shot 57% from the field in the first half and 42% from three. They got 36 points from their bench but also had 10 turnovers. Niang led the team with 12 points and three Hawks had at least seven points. Philadelphia shot 42% from the field and 36% from three.

The third quarter was all about the rookie Zaccharie Risacher. Risacher exploded for 16 points in the third quarter, going 3-4 from deep. Not only was Risacher hot on the offensive end, but the Great Barrier Thief was disrupting the 76ers on the other end. Daniels recorded his 200th steal of the season tonight vs the 76ers and became the fifth youngest player in NBA history to get to 200 steals.

Zacch scored 16 points in less than 8 minutes during the 3rd quarter 🍽️ pic.twitter.com/EUzeKUZzAh

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) March 23, 2025

Dyson Daniels is the youngest player in the NBA since at least 1973-74 to have 200 steals in a single season. He’s the fifth player to do so prior to turning 23, joining Magic Johnson, Chris Paul, Isiah Thomas and Dudley Bradley.

— Hawks PR (@HawksPR) March 23, 2025

The Hawks offense continued to roll, shooting 7-11 from three and over 60% from the field in the quarter. Atlanta led 107-82 after three and this game was all but wrapped up.

The 76ers did not get that message though. During their meeting two weeks ago, the 76ers refused to quit and kept battling the Hawks to the end and they did that tonight. A 16-4 run in the 4th quarter cut the Hawks lead to 115-100 wit 6:39 left and while that was still an uphill battle to climb, they were not out of it just yet.

The lead was cut to 12, but a big three from Niang with 5:30 to go in the game got the lead back to 15. It was his fifth three of the game. Atlanta finished out the game without letting the 76ers make an actual run in the game. Atlanta won 132-119 and heads into a matchup with the Rockets with a ton of momentum.

Additional Links

Dyson Daniels Makes NBA History Tonight vs The Philadelphia 76ers

Hawks vs Sixers: Game Preview, Injury Report, Projected Starting Lineups For Tonight's Game

Hawks vs Warriors Final Score: Atlanta's Offense Carves Up Golden State's Defense to Hand Them a 124-115 Loss