The Atlanta Hawks looked like they were going to cruise to victory against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1 of their second-round series, going up by as many as 26 points and holding a 14-point lead with three and a half minutes to go. However, a frenetic 11-0 Sixers run down the stretch had the Hawks frazzled, and it looked like the road team was about to choke the game away on several occasions.
But Bogdan Bogdanovic silenced the raucous Philly crowd with a clutch 3-pointer with 41.4 seconds to play, giving Atlanta a 121-115 lead. Ice in the veins from Bogie:
Bogdanovic with a CLUTCH triple 🥶 pic.twitter.com/5iZDpnbu3a
— NBA TV (@NBATV) June 6, 2021
A whole lot of bonkers stuff happened in the final minute, including several Hawks turnovers to keep the Sixers alive, but Bogdanovic finally put the game away with two clutch free throws after he committed one of those turnovers while essentially being tackled by defenders. Atlanta held on to earn a 128-124 win to take a 1-0 series lead.
After that Bogdanovic triple, Ben Simmons hit a free throw and then Trae Young turned it over, leading to a Tobias Harris layup. But then Joel Embiid was hit with a clear path foul as John Collins tried to go score during a frantic sequence, leading to two Collins free throws. Collins followed up the made freebies with this exclamation point:
Trae lobs to John Collins to seal it 💪 pic.twitter.com/dDG4KyeK7y
— NBA TV (@NBATV) June 6, 2021
The Sixers made their final push, only for Bogie to wrap the game up at the charity stripe with those two clutch free throws. He finished with 21 points and five made 3-pointers.
Trae Young led the Hawks with 35 points and 10 assists. Collins added 21 points.
Joel Embiid led the Sixers with 39 points, nine rebounds and four assists in 38 minutes despite recently suffering a small meniscus tear. Philly was just not able to get out of the big hole it dug for itself, which included an early 17-0 run by Atlanta.
Game 2 is on Tuesday.
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