It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish – this sage saying is quite fitting to describe Trae Young’s late heroics to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a victory over the 76ers, evening the series at two games apiece.
Young turned around his uncharacteristically sluggish start, ending the game with 25 points and a win for his team. His late scoring was enough to push the Hawks to a 103-100 victory, a narrow decision that has massive implications in a series that is now up for grabs.
Young was clearly nursing a shoulder injury, but he nonetheless prevailed over this pain to propel his team to victory. His efforts were helped by an unlikely source in superstar Joel Embiid, whose lackluster performance in the second half (going scoreless from the field) was a huge difference-maker as time winded down. Embiid has been playing the series with torn cartilage in his knee, which has undoubtedly adversely affected the big man’s play.
Young was helped by the efforts of Bogdan Bogdanovic (22 points) and John Collins (14 points). Some of these points were also facilitated by Young, who finished with a career-high 18 assists.
The 76ers will need to work on closing out better in Game 5, as they had an 18-point lead at halftime that they watched evaporate. Embiid continued the 76ers’ late struggles by missing a wide-open layup in the closing seconds of the final quarter. The late miss resulted in him finishing just 4 of 20 from the field overall, a stark contrast from his normal conversion rate of 51.3%.
The 76ers have a chance to regain the lead in a critical Game 5, as roughly 83% of all teams that win Game 5 in a tied series go on to win the series.
Game 5 will be on Wednesday.
