Atlanta Hawks capitalise on Philadelphia 76ers collapse to edge ahead in series

THE ATLANTA HAWKS capitalised on an incredible collapse from the Philadelphia 76ers to pull out a 109-106 victory and move to within one win of the Eastern Conference finals.

Philadelphia were dominant in the first half, rallying behind Joel Embiid to race out to a 26-point early lead.

The Sixers let their foot off the gas slightly in the third quarter, but still did enough to maintain an 18-point gap headed into the final period.

However, things quickly went downhill for the hosts in the fourth as Atlanta began to see shots fall, while Philadelphia could not buy a field goal.

A late surge from Trae Young helped the Hawks outscore the Sixers 40-19 down the stretch, with Ben Simmons’ free throw struggles only serving to accelerate Atlanta’s comeback.

Young finished with a game-high 39 points, while Embiid and Seth Curry combined for 73 for the Sixers. They were the only two Philadelphia players to score a field goal in the entire second half.

The Los Angeles Clippers also took a 3-2 lead in their series against the Utah Jazz following a 119-111 win.

Despite Kawhi Leonard being ruled out indefinitely with a knee injury prior to tip-off, the Clippers did well to keep pace with the Jazz early on, preventing a number of small runs from allowing the game to get away from them.

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Down 65-60 headed into the third, Paul George stepped up in Leonard’s absence to spark a crucial 23-9 run which ultimately turned the tide in the Clippers’ favour.

George led the way for the visitors with 37 points and 16 rebounds, while Utah’s Bojan Bogdanovic shot nine three-pointers in a 32-point effort.

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