Sixers-Hawks best/worst: No answer for Trae Young; nice tribute to Kobe

ATLANTA — Here’s my look at the best and worst performances from the 76ers’ 127-117 loss to Atlanta Hawks on Thursday night at State Farm Arena.

Best performance: This had to be one of the easiest picks in the last five seasons. Yes, Trae Young was just that good. The 15,227 on hand watched the Hawks point guard make a mockery of the Sixers defense. Young, named an All-Star starter last week, finished with 39 points and a career-high 18 assists. He dominated from the start, posting 14 points and 10 assists in the first quarter. The second-year player had 29 points at halftime.

Worst performance: This one was tough, because Furkan Korkmaz and Raul Neto were each scoreless in more than 20 minutes of action. But I ended up giving it to Neto, two days after the backup point guard was the best performer in a win over the Golden State Warriors. On this night, he missed all six of his shots. He also had two turnovers, compared to one assist.

Best defensive performance: It’s hard to give this award to a Sixer the way Young dominated. But it would be harder to overlook what Simmons did. He finished with a game-high four steals while guarding numerous positions.

Worst statistic: This goes to the Sixers’ three-point shooting. They made just 9 of 31, 29%.

Best statistic: I’m giving this to Young’s foul shooting. He made 18 of 20 free throws, 90%.

Worst of the worst: I had to give this to the Sixers bench. They were outscored, 30-14, by the Hawks bench. Even that was a little misleading, considering Mike Scott scored 11 of those points. The other three came from James Ennis (two) and Zhaire Smith (one). The Sixers’ other two reserves, Korkmaz and Neto, combined to miss 13 shots.

Best of the best: This goes to the Hawks coaching staff’s tribute to Kobe Bryant. The coaches wore Kobe sneakers in honor of the former Lower Merion and Los Angeles Lakers star who was killed Sunday in a helicopter crash.