Thank God. The 76ers pull out a win against the rival Hawks by a final score of 98-96. Philadelphia’s stout defense held Atlanta to just nine points in the fourth quarter, and a strong game from Embiid led them to a much needed win.

After struggling in Boston, Joel Embiid came back with a 28 point performance and a dominant fourth quarter. Embiid was finally able to get some easy offense in this one, and got to his spots especially late in the game.

Offense has been difficult to come by for Joel over the last few games, but his consistency defensively is what has kept this 76ers team alive and that was no different tonight. The Sixers needed this one, and Embiid showed some emotion after Atlanta missed the potential game winner which was nice to see.

It seemed like Doc Rivers got his head out of his ass a bit tonight by going to Seth Curry in late game situations. Curry hit two massive shots in the last quarter and even grabbed a steal on a very important defensive possession. He finished the game with 18 points and dropped five dimes. With Maxey struggling as of late, Curry’s scoring ability needs to continue to show like it did tonight.

Aside from those two standout players, this was a full team effort from the 76ers with contributions from a handful of players. While this might seem like a regular win, I think this could have meant more to the team than that.

There is certainly some bad blood between these squads, and with the current skid that the Sixers are enduring this was an important game. To go down to the wire, where they have been abysmal this week, and win against a tough opponent without Tobias Harris, I think that could give them a boost to finish out this road trip. Could be wishful thinking, but that’s what I’m telling myself for now.

The 76ers get the weekend off, and are back in action on Monday in Charlotte.

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