Maybe it was because he was wearing a T-shirt with a picture of his dunk on Sixers center Joel Embiid from Game 6.
Game 7, I feel like we all had each other’s back.
In Collins’ first three seasons in Atlanta, the Hawks were 73-158, the fourth-worst winning percentage over that span .
The win sends the Hawks to the conference finals for only the second time in the past 50 years — and to a place that seemed unthinkable to many when Nate McMillan took over as interim coach for Lloyd Pierce.
“What we tried to do was build a culture that will produce winning and create a style that will give these guys an opportunity to win games,” McMillan said.
“Those were the things I was trying to build with this group.
The Hawks came away with three wins on the road this series in order to advance and did so despite a poor shooting night from star guard Trae Young.
The Sixers were able to get the lead back down to one, but after Matisse Thybulle fouled Kevin Huerter on a 3-point attempt with 54 seconds to go, Huerter knocked down all three free throws to push it back to a four-point game.
According to ESPN Stats & Information research, he is the second player in Hawks history to record a points-assists double-double on the road in a Game 7.
“Everybody is happy we made it to the Eastern Conference finals but we’re not satisfied.
Prior to that, they hadn’t made the round prior to the NBA Finals since the 1969-70 season, when they lost the then-division finals to the Los Angeles Lakers.
While Young struggled to get going from the field and with starting guard Bogdan Bogdanovic hampered by a knee injury, Huerter took on the scoring burden.
Like Collins, Huerter remembers hearing about development over the past few seasons but knew that this season was supposed to be different.
Just kind of the culmination up to this point, the three years of guys just working and believing what we’re trying to build here in Atlanta and what we’re continuing to try and build here.