Five observations from the Hawks’ 104-72 victory against the 76ers on Saturday at Wells Fargo Center.
1. Paul Millsap may still be recovering from his non-surgical knee procedure and working on his conditioning, but it's hard to tell. Millsap again led the Hawks in scoring with 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting. The All-Star power forward also had four rebounds, four assists and a steal in 27 minutes, tied with Dennis Schroder for the most minutes by a starter in the blowout.
“I feel pretty good,” Millsap said. “We are looking at the now, but it’s more about the later. Keeping me fresh, keeping my healthy through the course of the year. We talked about keeping my minutes low, so when I’m out I can put it all out there.”
At times, Millsap was forced to guard 76ers centers Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor with Dwight Howard in foul trouble. He did an admirable job.
“I don’t think necessarily he’s slow,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “I always think he could probably play with a little better pace and get in and out of things quicker. He looks at me like I’m crazy. … He’s played very, very well in the first two games.”
2. Mike Muscala continues to impress as the first substitute. He played power forward for much of the game, but also needed to take his turns on Embiid and Okafor. Muscala finished with 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting. His only miss was a 3-point attempt. He added five rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
“My shot felt good in the mid-range,” Muscala said.
The Hawks once again got solid play from the bench, including Thabo Sefolosha (11 points), Tim Hardaway Jr. (seven points), Malcom Delaney (eight points) and Kris Humphries (10 rebounds). In a rare move, there were times when the Hawks had a lineup of all reserves on the floor.
“One through 15 we are working hard and staying ready,” Muscala said. “The starters are obviously very established players. We just look to keep it up, share the ball and play Hawks basketball.”
3. The Hawks won despite only two points and seven rebounds from Howard. The center was in foul trouble, picking up his third in the second quarter and a fourth early in the third. The Hawks still won by 32 points. Howard was coming off a 19-rebound game in the season opener. According to coaches and players, Howard's presence still makes a difference.
“That’s how we play,” Kyle Korver said. “We don’t rely on one person. We never have. We’d love to have everyone playing at their best and one of the nights when everyone is in sync. We just don’t give the ball to one person. No matter if Dwight isn’t scoring or rebounding, he’s still a presence down there for us. They still have to respect that, and it still opens things up for everyone else.”
4. Korver began his career in Philadelphia. The Sixers should know he can shoot. Korver entered the game with a career 3-point shooting percentage of .465 (40-of-86) against the Sixers. He made 3 of 4 in the first two quarters on his way to 15 first-half points. He finished the game with the totals after the Hawks pulled away in the second half.
“I got a couple good looks within the offense,” Korver said. “I missed a wide-open one on the break I’d love to have back.”
5. In an unusual early Saturday afternoon start, the game tipped at 12:40 p.m. The Hawks started playing at about 12:43 p.m. They missed their first six shots and found themselves down 8-0, a 76ers run that included a 3-pointer to start the game from Embiid.
“I don’t think we guarded them,” said Budenholzer, who called timeout and got on his team. “We stood there and watched the shoot two wide-open 3’s. We took a timeout and talked about it. At the end of the day, you have to be more focused those first two, three minutes. Can’t stand and watch.”
The Hawks answered with nine consecutive points to erase the early deficit. By the end of the first quarter, the Hawks led 29-24 and shot 47 percent (14-of-30) from the field. Of their 14 field goals, eight came in the paint, and 11 were assisted.
“The start of the game we came out like it was a 12:30 p.m. game,” Millsap said. “A little sluggish. We had to wake up. Once we woke up, Coach got on us and we got into a good rhythm.”
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