Sixers' offensive comes alive in easy win over Hawks
ATLANTA -- Jrue Holiday knew his Philadelphia 76ers had had a good first quarter, but he didn't know how good. Told it was 40 points, his eyes grew. "Oh! Wow!" he exclaimed.
"Scoring 40, which I'm not sure we've ever done in one quarter this whole year, is definitely a good feeling.
"That shows that we're sharing the ball. The ball's moving, everybody's making plays -- making the right plays, not turning the ball over. Again, just having fun."
The Sixers kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a 101-90 pummeling of the Atlanta Hawks Friday night at Philips Arena.
"That might have been the best first quarter we've had all season long," Sixers coach Doug Collins said. "Had great energy. The ball was moving. We were just really sharp."
Evan Turner led the Sixers with 24 points -- 10 in the third quarter -- and had 11 rebounds for his 13th double-double this season. Spencer Hawes had 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Thaddeus Young scored 14 points to go with 13 rebounds.
Al Horford, who spent every time out exhorting his teammates to make a push, led the Hawks with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Josh Smith scored 19 points and Jeff Teague had 12 points and nine assists.
Kyle Korver's 11 points included a 3-point shot, extending to 70 straight games his streak with at least one 3-pointer made. Ivan Johnson added 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
"For whatever reason," Horford said of the Hawks' inability to create a streak, "we can't get it together."
The Hawks (42-35) were down 14 points at the end of the first quarter, 40-26, and lucky to be even that close. The Sixers broke down the Hawks' defense and were red-hot, at one point shooting a combined 89.5 percent from the floor and the foul line.
"How you can come out and play like that when the game has that type of meaning is beyond me," Hawks coach Larry Drew said. "We're not grinding. We're not starting the game with a sense of urgency.
"Here we are, 77 games into our season, and we don't know who we are."
The Sixers (31-44), the lowest-scoring team in the league, averaging 92.9 points a game, already had racked up 17 points by the first time out at 6:22. They had 45 points at 9:33 in the second quarter and led 58-45 at the half.
Holiday, coming off a disappointing, 2-for-24 performance against the Charlotte Bobcats Wednesday night, had nine points and eight assists. Damien Wilkins, playing in front of his uncle, Hawks' announcer and Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins, scored 16 points.
NOTES: Horford has a house full of relatives this weekend, in town for the Final Four to see younger brother Jon and his Michigan team. Asked who all he was putting up, Horford laughed, "Everyone!" ... The Hawks were without Devin Harris, still sore from Wednesday's treatment on his injured left foot, and John Jenkins, who is still adhering to the NBA's concussion protocol. Jenkins worked out before the game. If he feels good Saturday morning, he is expected to be available when the Hawks face the Spurs in San Antonio on Saturday night. ... Collins had Horford and Jeff Teague on his radar before the game. The pair was held to 12 points combined when the Sixers beat the Hawks in Philadelphia on Dec. 21 but accounted for 48 points when the Hawks beat the Sixers 107-96 in Atlanta on March 6. ... Dorell Wright was out with a right elbow contusion. ... The Sixers aren't yet mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, and Collins says, "I really like the spirit of our team coming down the stretch. We want to win. We're not looking to be in the lotto bowl."
