76ers at Hawks: Recap and Post Game Thread

It was an ugly in Atlanta but the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Hawks 121-113 on Tuesday night at Philips Arena. The game extended the Sixers’ winning streak to 15 games, setting a new franchise record for most consecutive wins in a single season.

J.J. Redick scored a team-high 28 points and knocked down six 3-pointers in the victory. It was the third time during the winning streak that the veteran put up at least 17 shots. Redick added four rebounds and five assists in 32 minutes on the court.

Amir Johnson put together one of his best performances of the season in his seventh consecutive start. He scored 15 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in 25 minutes on the court. Johnson also dished five assists and knocked down one of his three attempts from beyond the arc.

Ersan Ilyasova came off the bench early on Tuesday due to an injury to Dario Saric. The former Hawk matched his season high with 26 points in 31 minutes of playing time. Ilyasova packed the stat sheet, making four 3-pointers and adding 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and a steal.

Redick led the way from deep but the rest of the team certainly helped during the night’s 3-point barrage. The Sixers made 17 of 37 3-point attempts (45.9%) which is the team’s best percentage since the winning streak began. Marco Belinelli knocked down five triples and finished with 20 points.

Ben Simmons could never seem to find his rhythm in Atlanta but still finished with another double-double. The rookie finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds but only had six assists to go with his six turnovers. He fouled out in the game’s final minutes after playing 28 minutes.

In the first half, the 76ers struggled to pull away because of missed free throws and turnovers. They shot 53.7 percent from the floor, made seven 3-pointers and led by as many as 11 points in the opening 24 minutes. However, Philadelphia made just 10 of 20 free throw attempts and turned the ball over 11 times in the first two quarters. The Hawks actually led 53-52 with 2:32 to go in the half but a 9-2 spurt put the Sixers up by six heading into the locker room.

Simmons was dealing with an illness on Tuesday morning but pushed through his questionable status to make the start in Atlanta. However, the Sixers continued to deal with injuries throughout the night and it started pretty early. Dario Saric was called for a foul after 13 seconds of basketball but the biggest worry was the Croatian going straight to the locker room. It was reported as a lacerated upper lip and chipped left central incisor (big tooth). He will be taking a visit to the dentist prior to Wednesday’s game against Milwaukee.

The Sixers hope that none of these are lingering injuries with the playoffs looming this weekend. Philadelphia will continue to compete for the three seed as the Eastern Conference seeding will come down to the final day of the regular season. The team will return to the Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday to face the Bucks. The Hawks finish their season with a 24-58 record.