The Atlanta Hawks engineered one of the biggest comebacks in playoff history by erasing a 26-point deficit to steal Game 5 and a well-deserved 3-2 series lead. They’ll now be playing in front of their boisterous home fans, so Philadelphia has their work cut out for them.
Catch this game live on Saturday, June 19, at 7:30 AM Manila time.
HOME TEAM: Atlanta Hawks (3-2, 1-1 at home)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Trae Young
- SG: Bogdan Bogdanovic
- SF: Solomon Hill
- PF: John Collins
- C: Clint Capela
The Hawks have silenced a lot of doubters by completing a second big comeback in a row. They’re a young team brimming with supreme confidence and star Trae Young put up 39 points, 7 assists and 3 steals on two turnovers in Game 5. He took over in the last 4 minutes of the game, scoring 13 points while effectively breaking The Sixers’ spirit.
John Collins had a solid double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Danilo Gallinari and Lou Williams chipped in 16 points apiece off the bench. They’ll need to continue contributing in a similar manner for the Hawks to close things out.
As it stands though, there’s no doubt in the Hawks’ players minds that they can send the Sixers packing in Game 6. The question is whether or not they’ll achieve that goal, and not have to force another comeback from a big deficit again. Three such wins in a row is a tough ask for any team.
The Hawks are 27-19-1 ATS after a win and 8-7 ATS as a home underdog.
ROAD TEAM: Philadelphia 76ers (2-3, 1-1 on the road)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Ben Simmons
- SG: Seth Curry
- SF: Furkan Korkmaz
- PF: Tobias Harris
- C: Joel Embiid
The Sixers are in crisis mode. They blew an 18-point in Game 4 to allow the Hawks to even the series, and then messed up a 26-point advantage to find themselves on the brink of elimination. They were awful in the closing moments of the fourth quarter in Game 5, considering that they were up 24 points with under 2 minutes left in the third quarter.
Joel Embiid had another huge night with 37 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 4 blocks, and shot much better than he did in Game 4 with 12 of 20 made field goals and 11 of 13 free throws. He again seemed to disappear as the Hawks made their big run, though, as he went 0 of 4 from the field from the 5:50 mark of the fourth quarter and then bricked two free throws that would have made it a one-point game with 10.9 seconds left on the clock. He’s been shouldering so much of the load that he’s clearly gassing out at the end of games, which has then helped fuel the fire for the Hawks’ consecutive comeback wins.
He got a lot of help from Seth Curry, whose 36 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals came with an efficiency reminiscent of his more famous brother. Curry shot 13 of 19 from the field and 7 of 12 from deep, along with 3 of 4 at the charity stripe.
The Sixers need much more from Tobias Harris and Ben Simmons, though. The pair are making almost $65 million in combined salary this year. Harris scoring 4 points on 2 of 11 shooting and Simmons getting 8 points, 4 rebounds and 9 assists while taking only four shots in an entire game does not cut it.
Philadelphia are 15-10-1 ATS after a loss and 15-11-2 ATS as road favorites.
PREDICTIONS:
Spread: The Hawks can smell blood and the last two games has removed any fear they have of the Sixers. I like them to win and cover +3.
Over/Under: The Sixers have been gassing out in stretch runs, so I think the under 221.5 hits.
