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Dennis Schröder tied a career high with 11 assists as the Atlanta Hawks blew past the Philadelphia 76ers for a 100-72 win Saturday afternoon.
In a rare 12:30 tip, it took the Hawks a few moments to wake up after the Sixers jumped out to a quick 8-0 start. Atlanta answered back with a 9-0 run to take the lead behind some good shooting from Kyle Korver. Korver scored seven of Atlanta’s first 11 points and the Hawks took a 29-24 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
Atlanta flexed their defensive muscles in the second outscoring Philadelphia 24-15 while holding them to just 25 percent shooting from the field. The Hawks pushed the lead to as many as 16 in the first half before settling for a 53-39 advantage at the break.
Atlanta came out strong again in the third quarter with four straight points from Paul Millsap but things got dicey from there. The Sixers cut the lead to just 10 before Atlanta regained control and finished the quarter strong.
If the Hawks let Philadelphia hang around in the third, they slammed the door shut in the fourth. Atlanta outscored the Sixers 30-14 and pushed the lead to as many as 32 before settling for a 28 point win.
Paul Millsap led the way again for Atlanta with 17 points, four rebounds and four assists. Korver was 6 for 8 from the field with all 15 of his points coming in the first half. Mike Muscala gave the team a lift off the bench with 14 points on 7 of 8 shooting. Dennis Schröder bounced back from a so-so game in the opener with 11 points and 11 assists. Joel Embiid and Sergio Rodriguez led Philly with 14 points each.
The Hawks shot 49 percent from the field and recorded 31 assists on 42 made baskets. Defensively they limited the Sixers to 35 percent shooting and capitalized on 20 turnovers.