NBA Playoffs Top Moments: Hawks-76ers Game 2, Clippers-Jazz Game 1
Tuesday brought another loaded duo of NBA playoff matchups in the conference semifinals.
In the first contest, Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks looked to stun the Philadelphia 76ers once again and take a 2-0 series lead – but Joel Embiid & Co. had very different plans.
In the nightcap, Kawhi Leonard and the LA Clippers hoped to continue riding high off their Game 7 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, but they ultimately found Donovan Mitchell and the top-seed Utah Jazz too much to handle in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal matchup.
Here are the top moments from Tuesday night's NBA playoff slate:
Utah Jazz 112, LA Clippers 109 (Utah leads series 1-0)
It was a slow offensive start to Game 1 for the Jazz, falling behind by as many as 13 points, but a late scoring barrage from Jordan Clarkson to close the first quarter kept them within striking distance.
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In the second quarter, the Clippers got a blast from the past from Demarcus Cousins, who gave the team big minutes to help keep them comfortably ahead of the Jazz.
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In the third quarter, the Jazz came out on fire led by Mitchell, who scored the first 10 points of the quarter to get his team right back into the game.
He even got some free game from Dwyane Wade in the process.
And Mitchell's dominance became contagious for the rest of the Jazz, with Clarkson joining in once again in the fourth quarter with some timely 3-point shooting.
Mithell finished with 45 points and was virtually unstoppable down the stretch.
Rudy Gobert comes up big as Utah wins 112-109.
Philadelphia 76ers 118, Atlanta Hawks 102 (Series tied at 1-1)
In Game 1, it was the Hawks who jumped out to a big lead in the first quarter. Game 2 was a complete role reversal.
The opening tip and opening bucket both went in favor of the Sixers, with Danny Green scoring immediately on a dunk.
The Sixers then rode the hot hand of Tobias Harris early to an 18-point lead, with the forward pouring in 16 points in the opening frame.
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The Hawks didn't lie down easily, storming back in the second quarter thanks in part to Danilo Gallinari's 15 points off of the bench.
As the action picked up, so did the intensity from both starting centers, with a monstrous jam from Clint Capela over Embiid, followed by Embiid returning the favor.
Embiid finished with 40 points, the first time a 76ers player hit that mark in a postseason game since Allen Iverson in 2003 – and, coincidentally, Embiid did it one day after Iverson's 46th birthday.
Although Atlanta kept things close with the fourth quarter approaching, the Sixers managed to create slight breathing room with a Shake Milton 3-pointer at the buzzer to take a 91-84 lead into the fourth.
From there, Milton became the story of the game, sparking a furious Sixers run to blow Game 2 open.
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