The last time the Atlanta Hawks visited the Wells Fargo Center, they were walking off the floor in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals victorious. They had knocked off the Philadelphia 76ers and ended their championship hopes.
A lot has changed since then, but as the Sixers welcomed the Hawks into Philadelphia on Saturday, there was something a little extra to this one.
The Sixers played with the proper sense of urgency all night long and they were able to build a lead as large as 33 and knock off the Hawks 122-94 at home. It’s only October and it’s the sixth game of a long 82-game season, but this was a bit of an early-season test for Philadelphia and there was a little more motivation for this one.
“I think when we go out like we did last season, this is a good test for us earlier this season to see where we’re at, where we stand,” said Tobias Harris who had 22 points and 11 rebounds. “Obviously, it’s early in the year, but there’s obviously a little bit more into this game than just a regular-season game.”
There was not any special message from coach Doc Rivers in this one. His team already knew who they were playing. At that point, it is all about going out there and getting the job done to see where they’re at as a team.
“I don’t think you have to honestly,” said Rivers. “If you lose to a team, you play them next, I think there’s a residual both ways. I didn’t bring it up. I didn’t think I needed to. I think they already knew it.”
This was the first really good team the Sixers beat in the young season. They had dropped games to the Brooklyn Nets and the New York Knicks and they picked up three wins over lesser teams. So it is good for the Sixers to come out and pick up a win over a solid Hawks team at home.
“We do have a long season and we do have a long way to go to get back to where we were and try to go further than that, but it takes small steps to get to that point,” Harris added. “For us, we got to progress of these types of games and playing good teams and closing out games and winning and finding our flow and our rhythm out there and continue to progress that on game by game.”
Their next challenge will come in the form of Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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