76ers Survive To Force Game 7! Clippers Complete Huge Comeback To Advance! 6.18.21
It’s a Friday night of NBA playoff basketball and we have 2 game 6’s tonight.
(1) Philadelphia 76ers vs (5) Atlanta Hawks
Philadelphia 76ers (3-3)
The 76ers had blown big leads in Game 4 and 5 and now with their backs against the wall, they needed an answer. The starters weren’t anything special and when the 76ers grew a lead, the Hawks always stayed in the game. But an unlikely hero in Tyrese Maxey played huge minutes for them and the 76ers were able to pull through in the end and force a Game 7.
The first half wasn’t great for Philly. They came out slow and lethargic as they fell behind by 12 midway through the first quarter. Tyrese Maxey had 6 points as the bench unit did a good job to close the gap but Philly still trailed by 7 after the first quarter. Embiid had 4 turnovers in the first quarter alone and Simmons and Harris each had two fouls.
Luckily for Philly, the bench came to play. Maxey continued his great play as him and the rest of the bench tied the game early in the 2nd. Philly did fall behind by 10 again but the offense got going a little bit more with the starters and all things considered, being down by 4 at the half wasn’t the worst outcome in the world.
Simmons had 3 fouls, the main reason why Trae Young had 20 in the first half. Harris, Curry, and Maxey were solid and Embiid was struggling. With all of those problems, to only be down 4 seemed like a blessing. Philly seemed to realize that and they turned things up in the 3rd.
Philly hit 4 straight 3’s to start the 3rd quarter in a span of 2:15. Seth Curry hit 3 of those and a 12-0 run to start the 3rd gave the 76ers an 8-point lead. The 76ers pushed their lead to double-digits midway through the 3rd but unsurprisingly they couldn’t hold the lead and they led by just 4 entering the 4th.
But Philly hit a franchise record 7 3’s in the 3rd and they just needed to hold on for 12 more minutes to force the decisive Game 7.
The bench unit did a good job holding the lead to start the 4th but after about the 8 minute mark, it was a dog fight. Ben Simmons got his 5th foul with 7:22 left. He stayed in the game, just to get intentionally fouled a couple of times. The 76ers seemed to have control of the game when a scuffle broke out between Embiid and Collins on the baseline.
That seemed to rile the Hawks up a bit as Trae Young hit a 3 to cut the lead to just one with 1:59 left. But credit the 76ers defense, after the score, the Hawks didn’t score until there was just 21 seconds left. The 76ers hit some free throws and drained seconds off the clock as they were able to survive and win this game, forcing a Game 7.
Tobias Harris had 24 points and 5 rebounds, 22 points and 13 rebounds for Embiid, and 24 points with 6 3’s for Seth Curry. Their “Big 3” has been great all series and they’re all going to need to put up these type of numbers if Philly wants to win Game 7.
Ben Simmons is just a liability. He dealt with foul trouble in this game but his lack of shooting and horrible free throw shooting are troubling. Tyrese Maxey was far better, giving them more offense. Sure you lose the defense, but expect some more Maxey in Game 7 with how he played in this game, 16 off the bench. I just don’t know how they use Simmons, but I don’t feel like he’ll be involved, per usual.
But the hero of this game was Tyrese Maxey. He had 16 off the bench and his energy got them back into the game in the first half. He is a scorer at heart and they needed him to get over the hump in this game. Maxey was the difference maker and we’ll likely see more of him in Game 7. Maybe Philly had the right mindset when they didn’t add him in a potential James Harden trade.
But Philly can win Game 7. They’re at home, they just can’t relax and blow another lead. They have to be aggressive and show why they’re the better team, because they are. Lets see how Philly handles Game 7.
Atlanta Hawks (3-3)
The Hawks were in this game. Trae Young and Huerter led the offense in the first half and they shut down Embiid and Harris. Simmons was in foul trouble, but even with all of that, the game was close. The 76ers got going in the 3rd and while the Hawks kept fighting in the 4th, they could never fully take control as they now have to try and win a 3rd road game to take this series in Game 7.
The Hawks started this game off well. They were hitting shots and playing excellent defense. Trae Young got Ben Simmons off of him with early foul trouble. The Hawks led by double-digits early on but their bench couldn’t hold that lead as the game was tied early on in the 2nd.
The Hawks again built a lead but like Philadelphia earlier in this series, that lead didn’t last long as the lead was only 4 at the half. Trae Young had 20 points and 7 assists, greatly benefiting from no Ben Simmons on him. Kevin Huerter had 15 but that was it. Gallinari and Williams were a combined 0/7 off the bench. Bogdanovic was 1/6 and Collins was 1/3. If the Hawks got any of their role players going, they would be easily winning this game.
In the 3rd the 76ers got going from 3 and they too built a double-digit lead. But the Hawks others got involved a bit and the lead was just 4 entering the 4th. That was probably the best case scenario. The Hawks were still in this game, they just needed a little juice to try and finish this game and series off.
The bench couldn’t give them the lead but Ben Simmons picked up his 5th foul with 7:22 left, a huge break for the Hawks. The Hawks did hack-a-Simmons a few times but shots weren’t falling. Bogdan Bogdanovic’s knee was hurting, so he exited the 4th quarter early, a huge blow.
With 4 minutes left, the Hawks were down 7 and in desperate need of spark. They got just that with a Collins-Embiid scuffle on the baseline after Embiid elbowed Collins in the face. That seemed to wake everybody up. Gallinari and Trae Young hit back-to-back 3’s and the lead was down to one with 1:59 left. But the Hawks offense went cold. They didn’t score for over a minute as Philly slowly inched away. The Hawks just didn’t get enough help offensively to win as this series goes to a 7th and final game.
Trae Young had 34 points, 5 rebounds, and 12 assists. Another great game from him, he was very effective with Simmons hardly being on him. Kevin Huerter had 17 but only two in the 2nd half. Capela had a double-double and solid Embiid defense. Gallinari had 16 off the bench.
But that was it. Bogdanovic was 3/11 and left the game early with that knee injury. Hopefully he can play in Game 7 because they need him. John Collins was 2/8 as his inconsistency offensively continues. Lou Williams was 0/5, the Hawks need more guys to step up, especially with the likeliness of no Bogdanovic in Game 7.
The Hawks have won two games on the road this series. They have shown the ability to come back from big leads. This is such a tough task for such a young team, but it’s a Game 7. Anything can happen. Excited to see where this crazy series takes us next.
(1) Utah Jazz vs (4) LA Clippers
Utah Jazz (2-4)
God this is embarrassing. Last year you’re up 3-1 and you blow that series to Denver. This year it’s the same team, new modern NBA look with all the 3’s and versatility. Best record in the league, Rudy Gobert wins DPOY, homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs, everything was going your way. You go up 2-0 on the Clippers without Mike Conley, dominating the first two games.
Then the Clippers tie the series but Kawhi’s season is likely done in by a knee injury. Sure it’s tied 2-2, but no Kawhi (likely) means the end of the road for Utah. Instead you shoot 3/20 from 3 in the 2nd half of Game 5 and lose. It doesn’t get better from here, I promise.
In Game 6, it’s the same thing from Game 5, just on a larger scale. 12/19 3-PT shooting in the first half. Mitchell has 22 points and Jordan Clarkson scored 21 points in the 2nd quarter alone. You score 72 points in the first half and lead by 25 early on in the 3rd.
And you lose. God this team is embarrassing. The problem? Being too modern. They just kept chucking up 3’s while the Clippers went on their run. Then they didn’t make any defensive changes and they lost. Rudy Gobert, the DPOY, was your liability because he couldn’t get out to all the Clipper shooters. Terrence Mann had 20 in the 3rd quarter hitting corner 3’s and getting to the rim.
You allowed 41 points in the 2nd and now you’re only up 3 entering the 4th. Yeah, the bleeding doesn’t stop. You get outscored 40-25 in the 4th and lose. You allowed 81 points in the 2nd half while you only scored 47, losing the 2nd half by a whopping 34 points. You blow a 2-0 series lead and I am elated. I knew this team would fail. They just can’t survive without their shooting. They don’t have the depth of some other teams.
This team is like an upgraded version of the 2015 Hawks. Dominant regular season, then you meet a real good team with depth and star power and you get smacked. Only this one is worse because they didn’t have Kawhi to end the series. Utah has to look themselves in the mirror and make some changes.
What to do with Mike Conley? He was hurt for all but Game 6 of this series and in this game, he didn’t do much of anything. Conley is a free agent this summer and he’s 33 years old. You signed Rudy Gobert to a 5yr/$205 million dollar extension just for him to be the reason you lose. Not suggesting you move him, but that’s rough. Shaquille O’Neal is somewhere laughing.
This team is going to stick together, which might not be the best things. Clarkson, Gobert, and Mitchell are all here for the long haul. Royce O’Neale is here until 2024. Bojan Bogdanovic is here until 2023. This team is going to stay the same and again, that might not be the best thing. They are too modern for their own good and they just collapsed again. Going to need to see some changes Utah, get to work I suppose.
Clippers (4-2)
Entering this game, the Clippers were 0-8 with a chance to clinch a berth to the Western Conference Finals. They were 0-3 last year as they blew the 3-1 lead against Denver, but here was a chance for redemption. After falling being 0-2 (again), you tied the series with back-to-back dominating wins. Then Kawhi goes down with a knee injury, likely for the season.
Instead of moping around, Paul George delivers the crucial Game 5 road win. But we’ve seen this movie before. The Clippers, on the verge of doing something we know they’re capable of, and then folding like a lawn chair. Now, that did happen in the first half.
They couldn’t stop Mitchell, Clarkson, or the Jazz shooters. Paul George was awful and the stagnant offense came back as it was just one pass and stupid shot alert on offense. The Clippers trailed by 22 at the half and trailed by 25 early on in the 3rd.
But using the powers of 50 years of failure, 50 years of not going to the Western Conference Finals, by far the longest streak of not making it to a conference finals in any one of the 4 major American Sports leagues (NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL). But they used that power to dominate. Their weapon of choice? The 3-PT shot and Terrence Mann.
The Clippers went from shooting 6/20 (30%) from 3 in the first half to going 14/19 (74%) in the 2nd half. Terrence Mann dominated with 20 in the 3rd. He got open looks because Gobert couldn’t close out and he single handily got the Clippers back into the game, trailing by 3 entering the 4th.
And the scoring wouldn’t stop. 40 more points in the 4th, 81 points in the 2nd half as they outscored the Jazz by 34 in the 2nd half to win the series. The Clippers head to their first WCF in franchise history, where they take on the Suns. Take that Lakers.
Terrence Mann had 39 points. Yes, you read that correctly. 39 points, 15/21 shooting from the field and 7/10 shooting from 3. It’s the most points he’s scored in the NBA or college, truly the game of a lifetime. 28-9-7 for PG who deserves a lot of credit for not only Game 5, but leading this team to a series with with Kawhi against the #1 seed. Pandemic P is on hold just for now, Twitter.
27 from Reggie Jackson and 28 combined from Batum and Patrick Beverley. The Clippers crowd was roaring, it was crazy, the Clippers are heading to the 3rd round of the playoffs for the first time ever. What a time to be alive.
(P.S. Suns in 5. Sorry to ruin the moment).
What Are Your Thoughts From The 2 Games Today? Leave A Comment Down Below!
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