2021 NBA Playoff Hangover (Day 30): Hawks Topple Sixers to Advance to East Finals

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Welcome to the Basketball Hangover. I write about what’s happening in the NBA daily. Hey! We’re in the playoffs now!

The Hawks pull off the upset and are moving on to the East Finals.

(PHOTO CREDIT: Bill Streicher/USA Today.)

The last few days of the NBA playoffs have been downright bonkers. Now the other #1 seed has been eliminated after an inexplicable loss at home against the upstart Atlanta Hawks.

It was hard for both teams to separate from each other. While Kevin Huerter was having the best game of his career, Trae Young was struggling to put the rock in the hole. Still, he was brilliant in finding his teammates.

Meanwhile, Joel Embiid was doing he could to keep the Sixers on top. Seth Curry was once again a deadeye shooter while Tobias Harris struggled on his shooting even though he was grabbing a lot of boards. Ben Simmons not shooting stood out more and more as the game went on.

It really became a huge key late in the game. After Huerter broke a tie with the jumper, Simmons found himself wide open under the rim. And he passed it out.

Matisse Thybulle would split those foul shots. Then the Hawks came back with a Clint Capela dunk and a loooong Trae three. That put the Hawks up 6. The Sixers were able to cut the deficit back to one but then Thybulle hit Huerter on a three-point shot with under a minute left to go.

Huerter made all three foul shots. In the ensuing possession, Danilo Gallinari was able to pick Embiid. Gallinari broke away for the dunk and the game was essentially over. The Hawks had done it and upset the Sixers.

Huerter had a playoff career-best 27 points. Trae shot 5 for 23 but still had 21 points and 10 assists. On the other side, Embiid had 31 points and 11 boards. Tobias Harris went for 24 points and 14 boards. Simmons only had five points but did grab 8 boards and dished out 13 assists. But he only shot four times and the lack of scoring from Simmons really bit the Sixers.

As for the Sixers, they had the #1 seed. Everything seemed to be working out. But then Simmons became a huge liability on offense to the point he wouldn’t even shoot under the basket. Doc Rivers and Embiid did not give flattering comments about him post-game. We’ll see what Simmons’ future holds in Philly.

BUT IN THE MEANTIME, the Atlanta Hawks advanced to their first conference finals since 2015. Truth be told, I don’t think anyone outside of the team expected them to be there; remember that Nate McMillan replaced Lloyd Pierce in March while they had this porous 14-20 record. They had a 27-11 flourish to finish the regular season. Then they defeated the cinderella New York Knicks. And of course, they just defeated the mighty Sixers.

Now that the final four is set, we’re going to have a REAL SHINY NEW NBA CHAMPION this season. The Bucks haven’t won the championship since 1971. The Hawks were still in St. Louis when they won in 1958. And the Suns and the Clippers have never won a championship.

The NBA should really be embracing this new blood. I’m excited to see how the next few weeks unfold.

Bullet Passes

Speaking of the Suns and the Clippers, they still gave us a fun outing even without Chris Paul and Kawhi Leonard. Paul George and Reggie Jackson continued to play well and lead the Clippers in Kawhi’s absence.

But the Suns‘ ball movement was so crisp that they didn’t seem to miss a beat without Paul. Devin Booker played like a classic second point guard next to Cameron Payne, who did a great job orchestrating the offense. It seemed like it was their aim to get everyone involved in the first half.

Then Booker exploded in the third quarter, scoring 18 points in that period. George nearly matched it with 16 points, whose three tied the Suns at 93.

But a 10-0 run early gave the Suns a cushion. The Clippers rang off 8 straight to cut the deficit to two points with 22 seconds left but Booker got away from Rajon Rondo on the inbounds pass from the sideline for what was pretty much the game-clinching dunk.

Booker ended with 40-13-11 as he did pretty much everything to give the Suns the edge. George had 34 points in the loss but you can’t deny that he’s been having a terrific postseason. Still, the Suns are 1-0 in this series and are three wins away from the Finals. After being out of the playoffs for 11 years. Ridiculous.

I find this funny.

So as some of you know, a Suns fan (now known as the Suns In 4 Guy) in Denver got into a scrap with a couple of Nuggets fans. The Suns fan won the fracas and afterwards, said Suns in 4. The Suns would, of course, go on to win the series… in four.

Anyway, Booker got wind of the video and sent him tickets and a signed jersey. And yes, he was at Game 1.

So once again, another fracas happened after Game 1 with some Suns and Clippers fans. The Phoenix Suns organization put out the above statement after, which is hilarious considering they promoted the heck out of Suns In 4 dude. You can’t have it both ways, man.

I get that Suns In 4 guy (sorry, his name is Nick McKellar) was doing it in self-defense but the team practically made him into a celebrity after throwing hands.

Meanwhile, the Suns’ James Jones won Executive of the Year. After all he’s done after the Bubble, he DESERVES it. BY FAR.

(Even though the voting was close…)

NBA Playoff Scoreboard

June 20, 2021

NBA Playoff Series Count

EAST

#3 Bucks will face #5 Hawks.

#5 Hawks defeat #1 Sixers, 4-3.
#3 Bucks defeat #2 Nets, 4-3.

#1 Sixers defeat #8 Wizards, 4-1.
#5 Hawks defeat #4 Knicks, 4-1.
#2 Nets defeat #7 Celtics, 4-1.
#3 Bucks defeat #6 Heat, 4-0.

WEST

#2 Suns lead #4 Clippers, 1-0.

#4 Clippers defeat #1 Jazz, 4-2.
#2 Suns defeat #3 Nuggets, 4-0.

#1 Jazz defeat #8 Grizzlies, 4-1.
#4 Clippers defeat #5 Mavericks, 4-3.
#2 Suns defeat #7 Lakers, 4-2.
#3 Nuggets defeat #6 Blazers, 4-2.

Watch This Play

This was the play of the game. Danilo Gallinari picks Joel Embiid and gets the dunk to pretty much seal the series for the Hawks.

What a playoff run the Hawks are having.

Everyone, please take care of yourselves during this pandemic. And that goes for everyone involved with the NBA as well.

You can find Rey-Rey on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.

You can also check out Rey-Rey’s podcast, Rey-Rey Is Fundamental, for more basketball content and, really, whatever else.

R.I.P. Nala.

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