Joel Embiid finished with 27 points and a playoff career-high eight assists in Philadelphia’s Game 3 win.
Game 4: Sixers at Hawks
7:30 p.m. ET, TNT | Sixers lead 2-1
• After averaging 39.5 points on 23 shots in the first two games of the series, Joel Embiid scored 27 points on 7-14 shooting in Game 3, but dished out a playoff career-high eight assists. The Hawks double-teamed Embiid 24 times in Game 3 after doubling just 15 times in Game 1 and 16 times in Game 2. The doubles reduced Embiid’s scoring output, but not his overall impact as Embiid had a plus-22.5 net rating in Game 3 – his highest rating of the series.
• For the second straight game, Ben Simmons was the primary defender on Trae Young. In 6:50 (58.2% of Young’s offensive matchup time), Simmons held Young to 10 points on 3-5 FG, 4-4 FT, with four assists and one turnover. Over the course of the series, Simmons has defended Young for 13:28 and allowed 14 points (5-11 FG, 0-3 3P, 4-4 FT) and eight assists.
• The Sixers had 15 fast break points in their Game 3 win and have averaged 17.0 for the series (leading all teams in the conference semifinal round). Philadelphia finished third in the regular season in fast break points (15.2), dropped to 13.0 in the first round, but have more than doubled-up the Hawks in this round as Atlanta has only 8.3 fast break points per game.
• The Hawks made more 3-pointers in their Game 1 win (20-47), than they have in their two losses combined (11-30 in Game 2, 6-23 in Game 3, 17-53 combined). In the postseason, the Hawks have shot 39.8% from 3-point range on 36.2 attempts in their five wins, and shot 29.9% on 32.3 attempts in their three losses. After getting 24 wide open 3-point attempts (and making 12) in their Game 1 win, the Hawks have had a total of 23 wide open 3s (and made just 7) in their two losses combined.
• The Sixers’ 68.8 effective field goal percentage on catch-and-shoots in this series leads all teams in the conference semifinals – 5.5 percentage points higher than any other team (Phoenix is second on 63.3%) and 18.8 percentage points higher than the seventh-ranked Hawks (50.0%).
Paul George had his first 30-point game since April 23 in LA’s Game 3 win.
Game 4: Jazz at Clippers
10 p.m. ET, TNT | Jazz lead 2-1
• Paul George had his highest-scoring game of the postseason in Game 3 as he finished with 31 points (12-24 FG, 6-10 3P), five assists and three rebounds in LA’s 132-106 win. This was George’s first game with at least 30 points since April 23 at Houston. The Clippers are 11-3 when George scores 30 or more this season.
• After averaging 32.1 points on 61.2% shooting to lead the Clippers to a seven-game series win over the Mavericks in the opening round, Kawhi Leonard averaged 22 points on 47.2% shooting in the first two games against Utah (both losses). In Game 3, Kawhi was back to his high-scoring and efficient self as he finished with 34 points on 14-24 (58.3%) shooting. Kawhi shot just 1-6 from 3-point range, but was 5-6 from mid-range and 8-11 inside the paint.
• Donovan Mitchell exited the game midway through the fourth quarter due to an ankle injury and did not try to return as LA already had the game in hand. Mitchell scored 30 points in his 32 minutes on court – extending his streak of 30-plus point games to five in a row. The last player with a streak that long was Kawhi Leonard last year against Dallas; the last player to reach six in a row was Stephen Curry (May 10-30, 2019).
• The Clippers made the most of the Utah’s miscues in their Game 3 win as they scored 24 points off the 13 Jazz turnovers – with Kawhi Leonard (9) and Paul George (7) accounting for 16 of those points. LA’s 24 points off turnovers marked a playoff high for the Clippers, who averaged 16.0 points off turnovers during the regular season, 12.1 in the first round and now 18.7 in the conference semifinals.
• Of the 34 players with more than 25 pick-and-roll ball handler possessions this postseason, Donovan Mitchell leads in efficiency, scoring 1.18 points per possession. Pick-and-roll ball handler plays have accounted for 49.2% of Mitchell’s offense, according to Synergy. Paul George leads the Clippers in pick-and-roll efficiency at 1.04 points per possession (10th in postseason).
