National Basketball Association

Hawks Overcome Slow Start to Thrash Sixers

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

The Atlanta Hawks move to 2-0 on the season after overcoming a slow start to pull away from the Philadelphia 76ers.

Coming off of an impressive home opener the Atlanta Hawks did not want a let down against an inferior 76ers team. After falling behind 8-0, coach Bud called a time out to rally the troops and Atlanta dominated from there.

The 104-72 victory continues the Hawks trend of blow out wins versus Philadelphia, which they beat all three matchups last season by an average of 26 points. The amount of depth that the Hawks have was on display in this one. Dwight Howard played only 19 minutes mainly due to foul trouble, and finished with just 2 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks.

He was not the only starter that struggled to get it going either. Kent Bazemore was cold from the tip, connecting on only 1 of his 7 attempts in the first half. Not to worry, there were plenty of others that were ready to step up. Paul Millsap led all scorers with 17 points. Kyle Korver had a great game as he raced out to 15 points in the first half. Mike Muscala also made an immediate impact, scoring 10 of his own also in the first half.

May 8, 2016; Atlanta

During the third quarter, the Sixers went on a run that trimmed a once 19-point lead down to ten. On the Hawks next possession, it was Dennis Schroeder that carved his way into the lane and dished off to Muscala for a runner that shifted the momentum back in the Hawks favor. Schroeder had a strong game, finishing with a double-double of 11 points and 11 assists. Muscala did really well offensively accounting for 14 points off the bench.

This was the type of win that shouldn’t entice fans to poke their chests out too far, but they took care of business. The schedule does get moderately more challenging this week. They host the Sacramento Kings on Monday night and then the Lakers on Wednesday night. It will be interesting to see how this team learns to win in the closer battles. With a 2-0 start to the season, things are looking good.