The road teams prevailed in their respective Game 3s. Here are some of the keys behind those victories.
Philadelphia 76ers 127, Atlanta Hawks 111
76ers lead series 2-1
In the first, second, and fourth quarters combined, Philadelphia barely edges out Atlanta 93-92. But a torrid 34-19 third quarter from the 76ers proved to be enough to give them the convincing Game 3 win.
In that period, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons led their team with 11 points each. Philadelphia also blitzed the Hawks in the paint 20-8, and shut them out 6-0 in fastbreak points. They did this while also holding the Hawks to 27.3 percent shooting from the field. Atlanta shot 55.0 percent in the other three quarters.
Despite the double-digit margin of defeat, Hawks fans should feel some solace that this game came down to a 12-minute lapse in otherwise decent play. However, it’s certainly not ideal to be down in a series against a team like the Sixers that has such a size and skill advantage. Tying the series back at two games is likely going to require Atlanta to be at their best for a full 48 minutes.
Phoenix Suns 116, Denver Nuggets 102
Suns lead series 3-0
This series may have had a change of venue, but the Phoenix Suns are still not letting up on the Denver Nuggets. They led for almost the entire game, were up by as many as 20 points, and all five starters scored double-figures. The Suns ended the game with a 50-40-90 shooting split (.531/.462/.900)!
Devin Booker (28 points) and Chris Paul (27 points) in particular seemed to get whatever they wanted offensively. Both utilized screens to cook defenders and slither their way to their favorite shooting spots. Paul torched the Nuggets with pull-up mid-rangers while Booker used his speed bursts in transition and isolation.
Phoenix also had a strong defensive performance. They made sure the shots weren’t nearly as easy for Denver, holding them to a .411/.341/.625 shooting split. The Suns barely won the turnover battle, forcing 14 while still committing 12. However, they did a much better job of capitalizing on their takeaways. Phoenix scored 20 points off of Denver’s turnovers, while Denver scored just six points off of Phoenix’s. This discrepancy is also the key to the Suns winning the fastbreak battle 12-2: force the turnover, then get out and run for the easy score!
Denver’s loss was an unfortunate waste of a Nikola Jokic triple-double. He finished the evening with 32 points, 20 rebounds (10 offensive, 10 defensive), and 10 assists. Those 10 o-boards really kept the Nuggets’ struggling offense from looking even worse, as they outscored Phoenix in second chance points 21-14.
Monte Morris also had a strong night, scoring 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting and doling out five assists. Michael Porter Jr. (15 points) and Will Barton (14 points) were the other two Nuggets with double-digits, albeit on inefficient shooting. In fact, while Denver’s two highest scorers combined for 53 points on 51.2 percent shooting, the other seven in their nine-man rotation had just 46 points on 32.1 percent shooting. Not a lot of help from their Others.
1 thought on “NBA Playoff Recap: June 11, 2021”