Atlanta Hawks Shock Philadelphia 76ers 98-96
Recap
The bad news kept coming before tip-off tonight. Rookie Sharife Cooper and legendary broadcaster Bob Rathbun tested positive for COVID-19 just before the game. Hawks Coach Nate McMillan elevated Skylar Mays into a larger role, and Lauren Jbara filled in for our friend Bob in the booth. We wish Bob, Sharife, and all the other Hawks players and personnel battling COVID a speedy recovery.
If you haven't learned yet when faced with adversity, the entire Hawks organization circles its wagons. Situations get tough, and they get tougher. That's what happened in Philadelphia tonight. A decimated Hawks roster battled a short-handed 76ers and came out on top.
The Hawks post players were phenomenal. John Collins, Onyeka Okongwu, and Gorgui Dieng battled Joel Embiid all night. Cam Reddish played inspired ball before leaving with a lower leg injury. Bogdan Bogdanovic overcame a cold start and helped seal the deal in the fourth quarter.
Although not to the same severity, the 76ers were without several players due to illness and injuries as well. In addition to being short-handed, their outside shooting was atrocious tonight; 6-27 (22.2%) is highly uncharacteristic of that team.
The Hawks outside shooting wasn't much better, 7-24 (29.2%). It was an obvious symptom of the team without Trae Young, Kevin Huerter, and company. All of Atlanta has to applaud Coach McMillan and the cadre of new guys for finding a way to make it work during these challenging times.
Post-Game Interviews
After the game, Hawks coach Nate McMillan praised his team's sense of urgency. "I just really respect the way these guys responded with their defensive effort." The Hawks defense and desire aren't always there. But with so many new faces came a new level of energy.
McMillan gave some insight into the unusual circumstances. "I've really never experienced anything like this with this COVID going around right now. It's just a different world, a different game that we have to coach now. Kevin was sitting out in the parking lot waiting on the test, and the results came back, and he couldn't come in. Sharife was in the locker room with us and was taken out of the locker room."
Now the Hawks hop on a flight to New York City to play the Knicks on Christmas Day. Unfortunately, the highly anticipated rematch between rivals will not look anything like what we expected when the schedule was released in August. As always, you can count on Sports Illustrated's AllHawks.com for breaking news and analysis.
Stats
Hawks Leaders
Cam Reddish - 18 PTS, 3 AST
John Collins - 17 PTS, 5 REB
Bogdan Bogdanovic - 15 PTS, 5 REB
76ers Leaders
Joel Embiid - 23 PTS, 10 REB
Tyrese Maxey - 17 PTS, 3 STL
Tobias Harris - 16 PTS, 6 REB
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