3 observations: Seth Curry, Sixers force a Game 7 with win over Hawks

The season was on the line for the Philadelphia 76ers. They had blown a lead in two straight games and they found themselves facing elimination against the Atlanta Hawks on the road in Game 6 on Friday. It was all hands on deck in order to keep their title hopes alive.

The Sixers got a big performance out of Seth Curry as he scored 24 points and he knocked down six triples to help the Sixers keep the season alive with a 104-99 win on the road. Philadelphia really needed all of his effort in this one as they needed somebody to step up and take control in this one.

Tobias Harris added 24 points and five rebounds, Joel Embiid had 22 points and 13 rebounds, Tyrese Maxey was huge and he had 16 and seven rebounds off the bench, and Ben Simmons had six points, nine rebounds, and five assists.

Here are the observations following a season-saving win:

Maxey providing a spark

The starting unit did not start the game well as they were jumped on by the Hawks early. In need of a spark, coach Doc Rivers turned to the rookie. Maxey came in and he was aggressive going downhill and making things happen on the offensive end. He was putting pressure on Atlanta’s defense and that allowed Philadelphia to work their way back into it after being down by double-digits early and the Hawks on the brink of breaking the game open. He was also huge in the second half as a serious source of offense as he was not afraid of the moment. However, he did struggle on the defensive end. He had such a tough time staying in front of Trae Young, which is really a tough task for any 20-year old rookie, but he hurt the Sixers on that end. Rivers had to insert Simmons back into the game in the second quarter. On the flip side, Simmons did not do a great job either as he looked frustrated to start the game.

Curry pulling the trigger

The play of Curry is such a huge X-Factor for Philadelphia. His 3-point shooting opens up so many things for the Sixers on the offensive end of the floor and he really kept Philadelphia afloat in the first half with his shooting. He was aggressive coming off the screens, he did not have any hesitation on the shot, and he made life easy for the others on offense. His energy to start the third quarter was huge for the Sixers. Trailing by four at halftime, Curry knocked down a triple before Embiid hit one, and then Curry knocked down a couple more 3-pointers and Philadelphia had a double-digit lead in the third. His play and his energy were huge in this win. There's no telling where the Sixers would have been if he did not confidently step into these shots late.

Embiid and the doubles

It’s hard to tell if this is a cause of the meniscus tear in his right knee, but the big fella has not looked the same in the last few games. He was destroying Atlanta’s double teams at the start of the series, but he began to have some issues at the back end of the series and it killed Philadelphia’s offense. There were a few times in the first quarter where Embiid would turn the wrong way and just walk into a turnover. One of them led to a Kevin Huerter triple and an early double-digit deficit. The big fella just looked out of it to start the game. He has been battling the meniscus tear and he had emptied the tank a bit in Game 5, but he just looked a step slow on defense, and then on offense, he settled for jumpers and his passes were lazy. He did not shoot the ball well from the floor again, but he did look more engaged in the second half which was key in getting a win of this magnitude.

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