After getting off to a slow start, Hawks All-Star Trae Young finished the win with a game-high 25 points to go along with 18 assists and four rebounds.
On the other side, the 76ers saw all five of their starters score in double figures but, in the end, it was not enough to get the job done.
After stealing Game 1 on the road, the Hawks lost the next two games by double digits, and it seemed like the Sixers had figured things out.
The Hawks were in serious trouble at that point, and it honestly wouldn’t have been surprising if the Sixers had cruised to victory.
Now, the series is all tied up at 2-2, and the Hawks still have a chance to advance to their first Eastern Conference finals since 2015.
The Sixers’ decision to make Ben Simmons the primary defender continued to bother him, and he missed his first five shots before going to the bench and putting a giant wrap on his shoulder.
He finished with 18 assists to set a new playoff career-high, became the first player since Tim Hardaway to have 25 points and 18 assists in a playoff game and is now the youngest player in NBA history to have 18 assists in a playoff game.
He either scored or assisted on the Hawks’ final 15 points, and was instrumental in a 7-0 run to take the lead in the final minutes.
The fact that Young is now 23-for-59 from the field in the last three games is cause for concern for the Hawks, who do need his scoring.
That’s always a cause for concern, but even more so these days since he’s playing with a partially torn meniscus.
To his credit, he was still a presence on the other end of the floor, and a monster on the glass, but the Sixers desperately need his scoring, and he just didn’t have it on Monday.
He went 0-for-12 from the field in the second half and missed a pretty makeable layup with 8.8 seconds left that would have given the Sixers the lead.
The mysterious trip to the locker room, coupled with his disastrous play after he came back, make it easy to wonder if there’s something up with his knee.
With the series now tied, 2-2, this becomes the major storyline moving forward.
joel embiid had 17 points and 21 rebound, but didn’t make a shot in the second half, and his struggles were the key reason the sixers fell apart down the stretch.