NBA playoffs: Top moments from 76ers vs. Hawks, Jazz vs. Clippers

A pair of 1-seeds faced potential elimination from the NBA playoffs on Friday. One stayed alive, but the other wasn't so fortunate.

First, the Philadelphia 76ers kept their title hopes going by holding off the Atlanta Hawks 104-99 to force Game 7.

The Utah Jazz hoped to do the same in Game 6 against the Clippers in Los Angeles. But the Clippers proved to be too much in front of a packed house, rallying from a 25-point deficit to beat the Jazz 131-119 and earn the franchise's first trip to the Western Conference finals.

While the comeback was amazing, it was only tied for the sixth-largest comeback in NBA playoff history and third-largest in Clippers playoff history. The franchise's largest postseason rally came against the Golden State Warriors in 2019, when LA battled back from a 31-point deficit in the third quarter to win 135-131.

Here are the top moments from Friday night's playoff slate:

Utah Jazz vs. LA Clippers (Clippers win series 4-2)

It was Donovan Mitchell — who else? — for the Jazz early.

He finished the first quarter with 16 points, including three made 3s, and a 33-31 lead for his team.

Meanwhile, with Kawhi Leonard out, Terance Mann picked up the slack for the Clippers, scoring 10 of his team's first 12 points. 

Including these over Rudy Gobert's head.

Not to be outdone, Paul George, LA's hero of Game 5, finished the first quarter with four assists, two rebounds and a big steal, along with seven points.

In the second quarter, Jordan Clarkson showed up in a huge way, with 21 points off the bench, including 17 straight for his team.

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The Jazz went on a massive run in the second, building a 22-point lead and at one point scoring 12 unanswered points, led by the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year.

Utah made 12 of its 19 3-point attempts in the first half — Mitchell was 5-for-7 from 3 and Clarkson 2-for-3 — en route to a 72-50 lead at the break.

In the third, the Clippers got their groove back, with nine straight points early and some big defensive stops. 

But, of course, Mitchell and the Jazz were not finished.

Still, Terance Mann stole the show in the third. By the end of the frame, he had a team-high 34 points on 27 minutes.

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With the Jazz suddenly out of their rhythm, the Clippers went on a 17-0 run to make it a game and finish the quarter down just three.

Reggie Jackson's layup at the 10:36 mark of the fourth put the Clippers ahead 96-95, their first lead since 40-39. Utah's 25-point cushion was gone.

Bojan Bogdanovic kept it close with back-to-back 3s.

The Clippers responded with a run to go up 116-106, with Mann again leading the way.

From there, the Clips cruised to a 131-119 victory, earning their first trip to the Western Conference finals. Mann paced the team with 39 points.

Philadelphia 76ers 104, Atlanta Hawks 99 (series tied 3-3)

The Hawks entered Game 6 with all of the momentum after their monster Game 5 comeback from a 26-point deficit. Atlanta also overcame an 18-point deficit to win Game 4 and improbably pushed the 76ers to the brink of elimination.

That momentum carried over early in Game 6, with the Hawks building a quick double-digit lead.

It should come as no surprise that Trae Young was in the middle of the action.

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Onyeka Okongwu also contributed a pair of dunks in the early going.

The 76ers battled back, however, pulling into a 29-29 tie early in the second quarter, thanks in part to eight points from Seth Curry. It was a continuation of Curry's strong play in Game 5, when he made seven 3-pointers.

Tyrese Maxey also made some big plays for Philly in the first half, compiling nine points and six rebounds by the midway break.

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But Young continued to be the difference-maker, and when he's feeling it from long range, there isn't much a defender can do.

Young had 20 points and seven assists by halftime, and the Hawks held a 51-47 lead. He now has at least 20 points and seven assists in 11 straight playoff games, tied for the longest such streak in NBA postseason history. John Wall also accomplished the feat from 2015 to 2017.

Sitting just 24 minutes away from the potential end of their season, the Sixers started the third quarter hot, taking their first lead of the game on a 3-pointer by Joel Embiid.

Curry added back-to-back 3-pointers, and the 76ers were suddenly sitting on a 59-51 lead.

But even as the 76ers extended their lead to double digits, the Hawks didn't appear intimidated or worried. They've proven that they can put together rallies, after all, and they bounced back with a massive, posterizing dunk by John Collins on Embiid.

The Hawks rallied to 80-76 with one quarter to go.

The contest then briefly morphed into a bit of a slog, with the refs stopping the action to try to figure out what happened on this play.

Curiously, the foul was called on Lou Williams, who was thrown to the floor by Dwight Howard. Also curiously, the 3-pointer by Maxey was not counted, as it was ruled that the foul came before the shot. 

The 76ers, though, maintained their lead with a little bit of defense on Young.

Things got heated with about four minutes to go, as Embiid and Collins got into it, with some feelings from Collins' earlier dunk perhaps carrying over.

Young drilled a step-back 3 to pull the Hawks within one with two minutes to go.

The 76ers held on, however, with Tobias Harris and Curry each scoring 24 points in the 104-99 victory.

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