Hawks pickup upset 98-96 road win over 76ers despite slew of inactives

The Atlanta Hawks took on the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night in what was another shorthanded affair for Nate McMillan’s team. Sharife Cooper joined six other Hawks in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, while Wes Iwundu would make his Hawks debut. Atlanta pulled out an unlikely 98-96 win over the 76ers despite losing two more players to injuries in the second half of this one.

The Hawks got out to a hot start and led by as many as 19 points in the first half, holding a 32-18 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Hawks were unable to hold onto that lead however as the 76ers roared back in the second quarter to tied the score at the half. Philadelphia outscored the Hawks 33-19 in the second quarter.

John Collins led the Hawks with 11 points in the first half, while Cam Reddish and Onyeka Okongwu each scored 10 points before the break.

The third quarter was a much closer quarter than the previous two, with the Hawks winning the period 28-24 and taking a four-point lead to the final frame. Reddish led the Hawks with eight points in the quarter but was forced to leave the game with an ankle injury. He finished the game with 18 points.

Bogdan Bogdanovic started the game 0-for-13 from the floor, but was the hero in the fourth quarter. Bogdanovic got hot and scored 10 points in the final period, leading the Hawks to a 98-96 win. Bogdanovic finished with 15 points, making his final four shots from the floor.

Collins finished with 17 points in the win, with Skylar Mays adding 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Onyeka Okongwu finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in a season-high 34 minutes. One another note from this game is that Delon Wright left this game with an ankle injury. If he and Reddish were both unable to go on Saturday vs. the Knicks, the Hawks would then obviously be even more shorthanded than they already were coming into this one.

The Hawks have a chance to get some guys back from the league’s health and safety protocols ahead of the Christmas Day matchup with the Knicks, but it’s just impossible to project how likely that is or who it would be. Atlanta and New York are currently slated to tip-off at 12 pm ET on Saturday.

Stay tuned.