Hawks Stop 76er's Fourth Quarter Comeback and get the Road Win

The Hawks have a quick turnaround and will host the Rockets tomorrow night

Tonight, the Hawks were on the road looking to snap their two-game losing streak against a very shorthanded Philadelphia 76ers team. Everyone knows about the injury to Joel Embiid, but Philadelphia was also missing other key pieces. 

After not being on the initial injury report, the 76ers ruled out All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey with an illness shortly before tip-off. He joined Nic Batum, Robert Covington, and De'Anthony Melton on the long list of inactive for the 76ers. The good news for Philadelphia was that the newly acquired Buddy Hield and Cam Payne were going to be able to make their 76ers debuts tonight. In total, the 76ers only had nine active players. 

The Hawks were without some key contributors as well. Dejounte Murray missed his second straight game with lower back tightness and the Hawks ruled out Wesley Matthews and Patty Mills with an illness. 

The Hawks starting five was the same as it was in Boston. Trae Young, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Saddiq Bey, Jalen Johnson, and Onyeka Okongwu were the first five on the floor for Atlanta. 

The 76ers started Payne, Hield, Tobias Harris, Kelly Oubre Jr, and Paul Reed.

The Hawks jumped out to a 6-0 run, but Hield had his shot going in the early part of the game and helped close the gap to 14-11 at the first timeout with 6:58 left in the first quarter. 

Hawks GM Landry Fields Comments on Whether the Trae Young/Dejounte Murray Will Work out for the Hawks

With Clint Capela out with injury, Okongwu has been getting the chance to start and while he is known as one of the best backups in the NBA, this was a chance for him to prove that he could start and be a part of the Hawks lineup for the future. He has been playing well in his opportunities and that continued tonight. 

Okongwu had a great first quarter, scoring 10 points and pulling in four rebounds. The Hawks started to pull away towards the end of the first quarter and Okongwu was a big part of that. The Hawks had a 9-1 run to push the lead to 29-20 and then a 37-26 lead at the end of the quarter. 

Johnson and Young were running the offense for the Hawks and had a combined nine assists. Johnson in particular had a strong first quarter with five points, five rebounds, and five assists. 

Hawks center Onyeka Okongwu vs the 76ers / Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

The second quarter was when you could tell who had the roster advantage. 

The Hawks, led by Young, led by double-digits for most of the second quarter and as much as 21 points. Philadelphia cut into that towards the end of the quarter but the Hawks led 73-56 at the half. 

It was a great offensive first half for the Hawks. They shot 57% from the field and 58% from three. Young had a near-double-double with 18 points and eight assists, Okongwu had 17 points and five rebounds on 8-9 shooting, and Jalen Johnson had five points, eight rebounds, and six assists. 

Philadelphia shot 40% from the field and 20% from three. Paul Reed had 10 points and 10 rebounds in the first half. 

The third quarter gave you no belief that Philadelphia was going to make the game at all close. The Hawks led by 17 heading into the final frame and appeared to be heading towards a smooth victory on the road. 

Then the fourth quarter started. 

The Hawks offense went cold at the start of the fourth quarter and that allowed the 76ers to close the lead to eight. The best thing that happened for the Hawks at the start of this quarter was that Trae Young had another 30 points and 10 assist game, the 77th of his career which moved him into 5th place all time. 

Trae Young has recorded his 77th-career game with 30 PTS & 10 AST, the fifth-most in NBA History

Trae Young is 25 years old 🥶🥶🥶 pic.twitter.com/A2PKGNtnUp

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) February 10, 2024

The Hawks battled back to get the lead back up to double-digits, but Philly kept punching back. With nearly 30 seconds left, Kelly Oubre Jr hit a lead to cut it to four and you had to start wondering if the Hawks were going to blow this lead. 

They did not though and would win the game by six. It was not the prettiest win, but the Hawks have now won five of their last seven games and will head into tomorrow's game vs Houston with some momentum. Philadelphia won the fourth quarter 35-24, the Hawks shot 31% from the field and were 0-5 from three. Young scored 13 of the Hawks's 24 points. 

Atlanta shot 52% from the field and 44% from three. All five starters scored in double digits and Young led the way with  37 points and 11 assists. Saddiq Bey and Jalen Johnson had a double-double each. Hunter had 11 points off the bench. 

Philadelphia shot 43% from the field and 33% from three. All five of their starters were in double figures with everyone but Paul Reed scoring at least 20 points. 

The Hawks will have a back-to-back tomorrow with a home game against Houston, who is playing in Toronto tonight. Tip off is set for 7:30 p.m. 

Follow Jackson on X here: @jacksoncauell

Follow Hawks coverage on Facebook here: All Hawks