With the NBA in an indefinite hiatus due to COVID-19, we continue our day-by-day look back at the history of the Philadelphia 76ers. We continue down our path into Sixers history every day as we look to fill the void left by the absence of basketball.
This throwback for the Sixers takes us back to the 2017-18 season when Philadelphia was on their way to the playoffs for the first time since 2012 and they were just prepping for the postseason. On this night in April, they were missing Joel Embiid due to the facial injury sustained due to some friendly fire from Markelle Fultz and then they lost Dario Saric to an injury 13 seconds in. So, they needed some firepower in order to win this one.
April 10, 2018
The Sixers invaded Philips Arena in Atlanta shorthanded and they had to dig deep to keep their hot streak going. So when they lost Saric in the first quarter, coach Brett Brown called upon Ersan Ilyasova and the Sixers went bonkers from deep.
Philadelphia drilled 17 triples on the night, led by six from JJ Redick, five from Marco Belinelli, and four from Ilyasova in a 121-113 win over the Hawks on the road. Redick finished with 28 points, Ilyasova had 26 points and eight rebounds, and Belinelli added 20 on the night.
The Sixers would enter the playoffs as the 3 seed before disposing of the Miami Heat in Round 1 in five quick games. They then ran into the Boston Celtics in Round 2 and were disposed in equally quick fashion in five games. [lawrence-related id=29151,29140,29132]