Philadelphia blew a 26-point lead as the Atlanta Hawks defeated the 76ers 109-106 to take an improbable 3-2 series lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Philadelphia collapsed in the 4th quarter, as Atlanta – led by scrappy guard Trae Young (pictured), began their incredible comeback.
The Hawks trailed by 22 points at halftime of Game 5 at the Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday. The 76ers led by 26 points three minutes into the third quarter.
The Hawks outscored the 76ers 40-19 in the 4th quarter. Young scored 25 of his 39 points in the 4th to give the Hawks a 3-2 series lead.
Young scored 13 of his fourth-quarter points in the final 4:30 to silence the crowd for good. Young hit five free throws in the final seconds to seal the win and hand Philly its worst playoffs choke in team history.
Philadelphia’s star power forward Joel Embiid was hobbled by a small lateral meniscus tear in his right knee. But Philly head coach Doc Rivers wasn’t concerned about Embiid’s knee prior to Game 5.
“I have no more [concern],” Rivers said on Tuesday. “I really don’t. Obviously, he’s not going to be exactly what it was all the time with the injury, but I’ll take what we have. So I have no concern.”
NBA expert Jack Maloney praised Hawks veteran Lou Williams (#6) who came off the bench to score 13 points in just over four minutes.
“Williams did what he’s been doing his whole career, and got hot in a hurry,” Maloney wrote, “there’s no way the Hawks win this game without him. This was a big time performance from the veteran.”
“Nobody was hanging their heads. Nobody was pouting on the bench,” Williams said. “You couldn’t tell from the body language that we were down big throughout the majority of this game.”
NBA legend Allen Iverson watched as his beloved 76ers let Game 5 slip away on the 76ers home court.
“These guys just don’t give up. They continue to fight,” head coach Nate McMillan said in the post-game press conference.
Atlanta can close out the series in Game 6 at home on Friday, June 18, at Philips Arena (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Watch Game 5 highlights below.
