Joel Embiid’s 32 points help Sixers pull away from Atlanta Hawks, move to 2-1 in In-Season Tournament play

ATLANTA — Joel Embiid elevated for a one-footed jumper, then shrugged his shoulders as Atlanta Hawks coach Quin Snyder called timeout after it splashed through the net.

That fourth-quarter bucket helped lift the NBA’s reigning MVP to 32 points as the 76ers pulled away for a 126-116 victory Friday night at State Farm Arena to move to 2-1 in NBA In-Season Tournament action.

Sixers coach Nick Nurse called Friday’s game a must-win to keep alive his team’s chances of advancing out of Eastern Conference’s Group A play and into the tournament’s knockout round. The Sixers now sit just ahead of the 1-1 Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers in the group’s standings, but behind the 2-0 Indiana Pacers (who also have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Sixers). The Sixers will host Cleveland Tuesday in their final Group Play contest.

“Everybody understands the importance of trying to get through this thing,” said Nurse, noting that he kept his starters in until the final buzzer because of the point differential tiebreaker. “We put ourselves in a situation where we were done if we didn’t win [this game].

“It doesn’t mean we’re going to go through now, but at least there’s some possibility. … Hopefully, we can sneak [into the knockout rounds].”

The Sixers (9-3) led the Hawks by as many as eight points in the third quarter, before stretching that advantage to 109-95 early in the fourth when Tobias Harris drilled a three-pointer and pull-up jumper on consecutive possessions. They led by as many as 16 points down the stretch.

Embiid, who again entered the game questionable to play because of hip soreness, also totaled seven rebounds and eight assists. And several of those helpers came on slick passes, including a behind-the-back dish to Robert Covington for a corner three-pointer and a touch pass to House for a layup that gave the Sixers an 84-76 lead with about a minute to play in the third.

Harris added a season-high 29 points (including 12 in the fourth quarter) to go with 10 rebounds, while Tyrese Maxey added 19 points on 5-of-13 shooting and eight assists.

The Sixers’ next game is Sunday at the Brooklyn Nets (3 p.m., NBCSP).

Trae Young sent social media abuzz with an early highlight — or lowlight, depending on your perspective — when his crossover dribble dropped De’Anthony Melton to the floor before he banged home a three-pointer.

That led to Melton being razzed by Embiid and Maxey in the postgame locker room, which then prompted Melton to playfully call them “bad teammates.” But minutes prior, Nurse said Melton and Co. did “about a good a job as you can do” in limiting Young (22 points, 13 assists) and fellow star guard Dejounte Murray (13 points) to a combined 10-of-30 from the floor.

“Just being physical with them and just trying to force them to their weak hand and get them out of their comfortability,” Melton said. " ... You’ve got to just respond.”

After putting that move on Melton, Young did not score again in the first half until a late runner gave Atlanta a 54-51 lead. Though Young scored nine third-quarter points, Murray went scoreless on 0-for-5 shooting in that frame. And a bulk of their fourth-quarter buckets came after the Sixers’ had already generated a double-digit lead.

Jaden Springer also spent time guarding Young in both halves, while Maxey, Covington, Danuel House Jr. and Patrick Beverley drew the assignment on him or Murray at times.

“We just asked them to just work the entire possession,” Nurse said of those defenders. “ ... [Young and Murray are] so crafty [with] stopping, changing directions across the lane and hesitating and stuff. We said, ‘Just keep chasing and working and don’t ever die.’

“We said, ‘They’re going to make some spectacular shots. Don’t let that stop you from just working the next possession.’”

Maxey, meanwhile, overcame a quiet first quarter, when he went scoreless on 0-for-1 shooting. He responded with 12 second-quarter points, including an explosion to the basket that gave the Sixers a 44-41 lead and a deep pull-up three-pointer that increased that advantage to six points with 3:05 left. He later dished a transition pass to Harris for an and-1 dunk in the first half’s final seconds.

Maxey also appeared to be heading toward a subpar third quarter, before he nailed a corner three-pointer and then drew a foul on the ensuing possession to help the Sixers build that eight-point advantage. That was part of a new-look sub pattern for Maxey, who typically comes out late in the third so he and Harris can begin the fourth quarter on the floor together while Embiid rests.

“You’ve got to coach the game that’s in front of you,” Nurse said. “It just felt like it was clicking. They had a really great rhythm going. It’s just, sometimes, even though you’re trying to think about later, sometimes you’ve got to coach the three minutes in front of you.”

To counter the Hawks’ dynamic backcourt, Nurse went back to Springer and House as the primary wing subs.

That decision paid off. House finished with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting and three rebounds, while Springer stuffed the box score with eight points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks.

“[We] brought energy to the game when we came in,” House said. “And other guys, they adapted and they started playing with more energy, too. It made me hustle even more.”

That duo helped the Sixers create their initial second-half cushion, when Springer converted a reverse layup to put the Sixers up, 86-78, at the 2:22 mark of the third quarter and House drained a corner three-pointer about a minute later. Later, a House finish gave the Sixers a 104-95 advantage early in the fourth, before his strong defensive play on the ball set up Harris’ long ball to put his team up double digits for the first time.

“Those guys did a good job of finding the open areas and benefited,” Nurse said. “Either Jaden got the cuts to the rim, or House kind of got the kick-outs for three. Hopefully, one of those two things is open when they’re double-teaming [Embiid].”

Covington also made an impact on both ends of the floor — six points, seven rebounds and three assists in 20 minutes — in his second consecutive start in place of Nicolas Batum, who missed Friday’s game for personal reasons. Batum is expected to rejoin the Sixers in time for Sunday’s game in Brooklyn.

» READ MORE: Wing rotation remains Sixers’ biggest rotational puzzle

Marcus Morris Sr., meanwhile, also entered the game in the first quarter, but unexpectedly departed two minutes later after knocking knees and receiving attention from the medical staff on the bench. He did not return to the game, but is not expected to be sidelined moving forward.