Atlanta Hawks shock Philadelphia 76ers en route to second Eastern Conference finals in 50 years

Atlanta Hawks ahead John Collins was in an excellent temper on Sunday night time, and with good motive.

After watching his Hawks defeat the host Philadelphia 76ers 103-96, Collins was all smiles. Possibly it was as a result of he’d been via three shedding seasons in Atlanta. Possibly it was as a result of he was carrying a T-shirt with an image of his dunk on Sixers heart Joel Embiid from Recreation 6.

Both means, the longest-tenured Hawk on the roster at 4 seasons was a contented man.

“Everyone is fired up,” Collins mentioned. “We’ve labored all 12 months to be in moments like this. Recreation 7, I really feel like all of us had one another’s again. We couldn’t have wished anything greater than we did tonight. We pulled via for a victory.”

In Collins’ first three seasons in Atlanta, the Hawks had been 73-158, the fourth-worst successful proportion over that span (2017-20). Final season, they weren’t invited to the bubble in Orlando, Florida. The losses simply continued to pile up. And issues additionally didn’t look like bettering to start out the 2023-21 season both.

On March 1, the Hawks had been 14-20 they usually had simply fired their head coach. Three and a half months later, they’re waltzing into the Japanese Convention finals. It was the franchise’s first win in a highway Recreation 7 in 10 makes an attempt. The win sends the Hawks to the convention finals for under the second time previously 50 years — and to a spot that appeared unthinkable to many when Nate McMillan took over as interim coach for Lloyd Pierce.

When requested if he thought this was doable when he took over, McMillan as an alternative pointed to what he was making an attempt to construct as the brand new man in cost.

“What we tried to do was construct a tradition that can produce successful and create a mode that can give these guys a possibility to win video games,” McMillan mentioned. “That’s respecting the sport. You play the sport with effort each single night time. You play the sport collectively. And also you belief in one another.

“These had been the issues I used to be making an attempt to construct with this group. I felt like we had some expertise although it was younger expertise. If we might get that in our system and mainly study to execute and play to win, I felt we might win some video games.”

The Hawks are simply the third staff below the present playoff format (since 1984) to make the convention finals regardless of having a shedding document on the All-Star break, when Atlanta was 16-20. The opposite two groups to take action — the 2012 Celtics (15-17) and the 1984 Suns (19-24) — didn’t make the NBA Finals.

McMillan can also be the seventh coach in NBA historical past to take a staff to the convention finals throughout a season by which he grew to become the top coach through the season. The earlier 4 coaches to take action — Tyronn Lue (2016 Cavaliers), Pat Riley (twice: 2006 Warmth, 1982 Lakers) and Paul Westhead (1980 Lakers) — all led their groups to the NBA championship.

The Hawks got here away with three wins on the highway this collection as a way to advance and did so regardless of a poor capturing night time from star guard Trae Younger. The third-year level guard, who had been so regular up to now within the playoffs, shot 5-of-23 from the sphere and 2-of-11 from the 3-point line.

Nonetheless, Younger got here up together with his second made 3-pointer at an important juncture as he nailed a 29-footer with 2:31 left to place the Hawks up by seven.

The Sixers had been in a position to get the lead again down to 1, however after Matisse Thybulle fouled Kevin Huerter on a 3-point try with 54 seconds to go, Huerter knocked down all three free throws to push it again to a four-point sport. On the following possession, Embiid turned the ball over on a spin transfer as Danilo Gallinari knocked the ball away. Huerter scooped up the unfastened ball and tossed it forward to Gallinari, who slammed it house to quiet the Philadelphia devoted.

It was the second consecutive hostile setting the Hawks have needed to play in after going via the New York Knicks in Madison Sq. Backyard within the first spherical.

“We went to 2 powerful locations and performed,” Younger mentioned. “It was a fantastic setting. Liked it. Liked the s— speaking. Liked all the things about it. It’s been nice. We obtained two victories. I’m comfortable about that. It’s been enjoyable.”

Younger completed with 21 factors and 10 assists. In keeping with ESPN Stats & Info analysis, he’s the second participant in Hawks historical past to document a points-assists double-double on the highway in a Recreation 7. The one different Hawk to take action is present Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers.

Younger additionally now has 12 consecutive video games with at the very least 20 factors and 7 assists, the longest such streak in NBA postseason historical past.

“The arrogance remains to be there. The arrogance goes to stay the identical,” Younger mentioned. “Everyone is comfortable we made it to the Japanese Convention finals however we’re not glad. It’s nice that we’re right here, however we nonetheless obtained some video games left.”

The Hawks final made the convention finals in 2015, after they had been finally swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Previous to that, they hadn’t made the spherical previous to the NBA Finals because the 1969-70 season, after they misplaced the then-division finals to the Los Angeles Lakers. At the moment, just one collection victory was wanted to advance that far.

The final time the Hawks reached the NBA Finals was in 1961, when the St. Louis Hawks misplaced to the Boston Celtics.

Whereas Younger struggled to get going from the sphere and with beginning guard Bogdan Bogdanovic hampered by a knee damage, Huerter took on the scoring burden. He completed with a playoff career-high 27 factors. Huerter’s regular-season profession excessive additionally got here in Philadelphia, when he hit 29 factors again in his rookie season.

Like Collins, Huerter remembers listening to about improvement over the previous few seasons however knew that this season was imagined to be totally different. The Hawks traded for Clint Capela through the earlier season and spent the offseason signing free brokers like Gallinari. They made an in-season commerce for Lou Williams to assist present a scoring punch off the bench.

“It’s been an extended couple of years. It’s been an extended two years being on the backside of the East,” Huerter mentioned. “And this 12 months, making an attempt to flip a swap and our entire mindset modified. The event course of was over. Simply form of the fruits up up to now, the three years of men simply working and believing what we’re making an attempt to construct right here in Atlanta and what we’re persevering with to try to construct right here.

“It’s been a fantastic three years, however hopefully the journey is simply beginning.”