Hawks stun Sixers to reach East finals
HAWKS 103 SIXERS 96
PHILADELPHIA — Trae Young ripped off his jersey and bounded up the steps to toss his dad the souvenir from the first Game 7 road victory in Hawks history.
Young’s going to need a new uniform. He shook off a cold shooting night and improbably helped Atlanta become road warriors one more time, and now the Hawks are taking their stunning turnaround to the Eastern Conference finals.
“We did it in a big way,” Young said.
They busted the Process along the way.
Young hit a late 3-pointer and scored 21 points to help Atlanta win for the third time in the series in Philadelphia, a 103-96 victory over the top-seeded 76ers on Sunday night in Game 7.
The Hawks will open their first East finals since 2015 against the Bucks on Wednesday night in Milwaukee.
“I felt like they were built for this moment tonight to win this game,” coach Nate McMillan said.
Atlanta had been 0-9 in Games 7s on the road.
But the Hawks ignored their ignominious history and got one in Philly, where they already won in Game 1 and Game 5 and knocked out Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and closed the book on the debated rebuilding plan known as the Process.
“We gave them life from Game 1,” 76ers forward Tobias Harris said. “It’s a young, hungry team.”
Not so deep down, not even the Hawks could have seen this coming, especially in March when they were 14-20, 11th in the Eastern Conference and fired coach Lloyd Pierce.
Under McMillan, the Hawks turned into birds of prey and Young led a charge into the postseason for the first time since 2017 that kept rolling with a first-round victory over the Knicks. Embiid, the NBA MVP runner-up, Simmons and a high-priced cast of stars were supposed to put the upstart Hawks in their place. It never happened.
Young shook off an otherwise off night from the floor — 5 for 23 — and kept shooting until he hit that 3 for a 93-87 lead with 2:31 left.
Kevin Huerter sealed the win with three free throws.
Philly fans let the home team have it and booed the Sixers off the court.
Embiid scored 31 points, with 11 rebounds and eight turnovers.