Sixers-Hawks best/worst: Joel Embiid’s career night; Josh Richardson’s defense; Tobias Harris’ resiliency
Embiid scored a career-high 49 points, and also grabbed 14 rebounds.
Here’s my look at the best and worst performances from the 76ers’ 129-112 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
Best performance: This is an easy one. Joel Embiid scored a career-high 49 points, shooting 17-for-24 from the field, 1-for-3 from three and 14-for-15 from the foul line. Embiid also had 14 rebounds, three assists, three steals, one block, and four turnovers. His previous career high was 46 points in a 115-109 win over the host Los Angeles Lakers on Nov. 15, 2017.
Worst performance: Atlanta’s Jeff Teague, normally a reliable backup point guard, shot just 1-for-6 in scoring four points in 17 minutes and 44 seconds. He had two assists, one turnover and a minus-7 rating.
Best defensive performance: Josh Richardson spent most of his time guarding Trae Young, who, despite scoring 28 points, shot 10-for-22 from the field, including 2-for-11 from three-point range. Young has unlimited range, and Richardson made him work for his shots.
Worst statistic: Mainly because of Young’s struggles, the Hawks shot just 8-for-38 from three-point range (21.1%).
Best statistic: The Sixers’ shooting. They shot 45-for-88 (51.1%) from the field, 12-for-30 (40%) from three-point range and 27-for-30 (90%) from the foul line.
Worst situation: At the end of the game, Embiid apparently made an obscene gesture at Atlanta’s Kevin Huerter after the Hawks guard stole the ball with 17.9 seconds left. This didn’t soil Embiid’s big night, but it didn’t enhance it either.
Best situation: Tobias Harris had been listed as doubtful for the game on Sunday because of a right-knee contusion. He eventually was able to play and scored 25 points, giving the Sixers a gritty effort when they needed his scoring even more, with Ben Simmons out because of his back injury.
Worst of the worst: The only thing about this game was that the Sixers couldn’t put away a 17-42 Hawks team earlier. The Sixers led by as many as 21 points late in the first quarter and found themselves trailing, 92-91, entering the fourth quarter. A win is a win, but being outscored by 40-22 in the third quarter isn’t a great sign. The Sixers have to show a knockout punch against non-playoff teams.