The Hawks trailed from the opening tip on Wednesday, falling far behind the 76ers heading into the half. Philadelphia’s lead eventually grew to 26 points midway through the third quarter, Lou Williams was inserted shortly after and NBA history happened one possession at a time.

By the final two minutes, Atlanta took its first lead (a Trae Young floater with 1:26 remaining) and closed out the Sixers from there, aided by two missed Joel Embiid free throws with 10 seconds left — after Philly’s Kia MVP finalist had nailed the 11 prior.

Embiid, who opened the game on an astounding 8-for-8 run in the first quarter, shot 4-for-12 from that point, finishing with 37 points. The Sixers outscored the Hawks by 11 with him on the floor, and were outscored by 14 with him off.

The @ATLHawks were down by 22 at halftime and won, giving them the 3rd largest 2nd half comeback in #NBAPlayoffs history. @EliasSports

CLE against IND in April 2017: 25 point halftime deficit
LAC against GSW in April 2019: 23 point halftime deficit pic.twitter.com/jIhTybH5Jk

— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) June 17, 2021

The 40-19 fourth quarter left Atlanta in a tie for the NBA’s third-largest playoff comeback in the last 25 seasons. The Celtics (2002 vs. NJ) and Cavaliers (2017 vs. IND) also overcame 26-point deficits, while the Grizzlies (2012 vs. LAC) won after trailing by 27 and the Clippers knocked off the Warriors in a game they trailed by 31 in 2019. Even just Young’s and Williams’ combined fourth-quarter tally (13 each; 26 total) was enough to top the Sixers’ 19 final-period points.

Embiid and Seth Curry — who turned in a playoff career-high 36 points (13-for-19 FGs, 7-for-12 3s) along with 7 rebounds and 2 steals — were the only Sixers with second-half field goals, ultimately combining for 73 of the team’s 106 points. Ben Simmons (8 pts, 4 reb, 9 ast) shot only 4-for-14 at the line, contributing to Philly’s 23-for-38 (60.5%) showing.