An Unlikely Hero Emerges for Sixers in Game 2 Win

The Sixers took the floor Tuesday night looking to bounce back from their game 1 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. While they were in control for most of the game, things got dicey in the second half. 

What adjustments were going to be made was a big focus heading into Game 2. Doc Rivers made multiple changes from Game 1, including with his rotations. After a poor performance on Sunday, Rivers finally abandoned the all-bench lineup. 

Even with staggering the starters to play with the bench, the second unit continued to struggle. At the end of the first half, the Sixers still had zero bench points.  

Seeing how bad that unit was struggling, Rivers decided to dig deep into his bench. He called on Shake Milton to enter the game and try to the second unit a lift. 

This move seemed shocking at first as Milton struggled greatly against the Wizards in Round 1. That was not the case on Tuesday against the Hawks. Moments after checking in, Milton knocked down a step-back three to give the Sixers their first bench points of the game. 

After that first shot went in, Milton was off to the races. In a five-minute stretch, he scored 11 points, including a trio of makes from beyond the arc. This spark not only helped the Sixers pull away for good but gave Joel Embiid some added rest in the process. 

Despite finding himself on the outside of the rotation, Milton never stopped working. He knew there would come a time when his number will be called and made sure he was ready for it. 

Game 2 was a much-needed bounce-back game from Milton. He looked like the Milton we are accustomed to seeing for the first time this postseason. Now that his cold spell looks to be over, the focus shifts to building off of this stellar performance. 

Kevin McCormick covers the Philadelphia 76ers for South Jersey's 97.3 ESPN and Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @KevinMcCNBA.