ATLANTA – Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid kept taking falls. He also kept rising to his feet.
Nothing was going to take the big man off the court Friday night with a playoff series lead on the line.
Embiid scored 27 points, and the 76ers rode a dominant third quarter to a 127-111 victory over the Atlanta Hawks and a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Embiid, playing with a cartilage tear in his right knee, also had nine rebounds, eight assists and three blocked shots. He played 34 minutes despite turning his ankle on one fall and landing hard on his back on another.
“I’m OK,” said Embiid, who made 12 of 16 free throws. “I’m standing up. I’m walking. I finished the game. So I’m going to keep getting back up. I’m going to keep fighting. That’s been me since I’ve been playing basketball. … Whatever happens, get back up and keep it going.”
Tobias Harris had 22 points and Ben Simmons added 18 to help the Sixers end Atlanta’s streak of 13 home wins. Philadelphia has taken the best-of-seven series lead with back-to-back wins and could head home one victory away from advancing. Game 4 is Monday night in Atlanta.
Simmons has had primary defensive responsibility against Trae Young, who led Atlanta with 28 points, in each of the Sixers’ two wins in the series. He was challenged to take a bigger offensive role Friday, especially with Embiid facing constant double-team defenses.
“I was just trying to push the pace and get in the lane, stay aggressive and get to the rim, get into a rhythm,” Simmons said. “I think I did a good job of that in the second half.”
The Sixers played up to their No. 1 seed, taking a lead of 22 points and keeping the advantage in double figures most of the second half. The Hawks played from behind after their last lead at 11-10.
John Collins had 23 points and Bogdan Bogdanovic 19 for the Hawks, who have difficulty matching up with the 7-foot, 280-pound Embiid and also have size disadvantages at other spots, including with Simmons (6-9) guarding Young (6-1).
“It’s not anything we can’t adjust to,” Young said.
When asked what the Hawks can do, Young added: “Obviously, if I had the answers, we wouldn’t be talking about it right now.”
The Hawks were outscored 66-58 in the paint and 15-6 on fast breaks.
“I think their size has had an impact on this series,” Atlanta interim coach Nate McMillan said. “They just pretty much pounded us in the paint tonight.”
After leading 65-60 early in the third, Philadelphia took command with an 11-0 run and outscored the Hawks 34-19 in the quarter. Simmons had two baskets during the run, including a dunk for a 76-60 lead.
Atlanta couldn’t regain the momentum as the visitors stretched the lead to 93-73 late in the period.
Embiid had a scare in the third quarter when he limped and appeared to be in pain after grabbing a rebound. Embiid appeared to step awkwardly on Clint Capela’s foot, turning his ankle.
“He’s playing hard,” coach Doc Rivers said. “He’s giving us everything. … He is going through a lot, I’ll tell you that.”
After Shake Milton energized the Sixers by scoring 14 points off the bench in Game 2, Philadelphia found bench production from a different source.
Furkan Korkmaz, who had a combined seven points in the first two games of the series, scored 11 in the opening period while making two 3s. He added another 3 in the fourth for 14 points.
“It was huge,” Embiid said. “We got that early lead because of him.”