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Hawks rally past Sixers, level NBA series

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Philadelphia 76ers' Ben Simmons has made this one count against the Atlanta Hawks.
Camera IconPhiladelphia 76ers' Ben Simmons has made this one count against the Atlanta Hawks. Credit: AP

The Philadelphia 76ers have blown an 18-point lead and squandered a late chance to snatch victory from Atlanta, with the Hawks prevailing 103-100 to level their NBA playoffs series at 2-2.

There may be bigger concerns for the Sixers with Joel Embiid spending time in the locker room in the second quarter and then failing to make a field goal in the second half.

The star centre has been playing with torn cartilage in his right knee - finishing the game with 17 points and 21 rebounds on four of 20 shooting from the field.

Ben Simmons had 11 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists and two blocks, on the same day that he was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team, but like Embiid his impact on the game after the long break was diminished.

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Tobias Harris scored 20 points for the Sixers while Seth Curry had 17, missing a potential tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Trae Young overcame a cold start to score 25 points, including a floater that gave Atlanta the lead with 1 minute 17 seconds remaining.

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Bogdan Bogdanovic added 22 points for the Hawks while John Collins had 14 points and 12 rebounds.

The Sixers led 60-42 late in the first half but Atlanta chipped away in the third quarter - highlighted by some put-back dunks by Collins that ignited the Hawks and their home crowd.

The period also included Simmons being called for a foul after he hit Collins hard to stop a breakaway dunk.

Bogdanovic opened the final period with a 3-pointer to give Atlanta their first lead of the half 83-82 before Philadelphia led 98-94 with time counting down.

Young's floater gave Atlanta a 99-98 lead, and his two free throws when fouled by Embiid pushed the advantage to three.

The Hawks hung on from there, catching a break when Embiid missed a lay-up and Simmons knocking the rebound ball out of bounds with 7.8 seconds remaining.

Joe Ingles contributed 19 points but it wasn't enough to help the Utah Jazz against the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Clippers levelled their Western Conference series with a 118-104 win after Kawhi Leonard and Paul George each scored 31 points.

Leonard and George have each scored at least 20 points in all 11 games this postseason.

They are just the third duo in NBA history to do that in a team's first 11 playoff games and the first since Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant with the Lakers in 2003.

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