Hawks Vs. Sixers: Elton Brand Parties Like It's, Well, 1999 Actually

Quick Thought(s): Elton Brand got back in touch with his youthful, offensively efficient Duke roots, pounding the Hawks throughout the game and in the fourth quarter specifically to lift Philadelphia over the Hawks 95-90.

Brand was a collegiality dominant 10-12 from the field for the game, sneaking away from Zaza Pachulia to hit some face up jumpers in the first quarter and then completely obliterating Ivan Johnson in the fourth with a pair of And-1s. He beat Josh Smith in the post and shot over Marvin Williams to make sure no Hawk felt left out as well. Often the person responsible for Brand was chasing a driving guard and left Brand the slightest of margins, which Elton happily exploited. He scored 13 points in the final quarter to aid the 76ers in their fourth quarter comeback win.

The rest is too familiar and tiring to repeat -- stinks to lose this game just as there was a 'hey, wait a minute the Hawks could actually nab home court' feeling passing over my mind. Time to scurry back to the more familiar 'you know, the sixth seed might not be all that bad' vibe I was throwing out there this week. Happy places, people, happy places.

Know this: Josh Smith had 34 points and the Hawks became the first team this season to have a 30 point scorer against the Sixers and still lose. True, there have only been five other times, but still. The ATL has always been about pioneering.

Hawks are off until Wednesday so there should be a good bit of palate cleansing between now and then. Enjoy the flavor!