The Atlanta Hawks (39-42) secured a spot in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament with a 124-110 win over the Philadelphia 76ers (26-55) on Friday, April 11, behind a 36-point, 11-assist effort from Trae Young and a hyper-efficient 31 points from Caris LeVert.
Young knocked down six 3-pointers and orchestrated the offense with precision, while LeVert hit 12 of 15 from the field in one of his best performances of the season. Georges Niang added 16 points, and rookie Mouhamed Gueye pulled down a career-high 18 rebounds to go with 10 points.
Dyson Daniels stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, three steals, and two blocks — pushing his league-leading steal total to 229, the most since Gary Payton's 231 in 1995-96.
The Hawks, holding onto the eighth spot in the play-in standings, remain a game ahead of Chicago and two up on Miami with one game left. Finishing in the top eight means they can still make the playoffs even if they drop their first play-in matchup.
Jared Butler paced Philadelphia with 25 points and seven assists, while Marcus Bagley posted career highs with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists. Bagley also connected on four 3-pointers in the final minutes of the first half, a breakout showing after starting his NBA career 1-for-21 from deep.
Atlanta put the game out of reach with a 9-0 run late in the fourth quarter, stretching a 111-102 lead into a 124-102 cushion behind two dagger 3s from Young.
The 76ers, who’ve now locked into the fifth-best lottery odds (10.5% chance at the No. 1 pick), will close out the season at home against the Chicago Bulls on Sunday. The Hawks will host the Orlando Magic on the same day in their regular-season finale.
