PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia 76ers fell to the Atlanta Hawks on Friday 124-110. The loss officially clinched the fifth-worst record in the league so they will have pretty good odds at keeping their top 6 protected draft pick heading into the lottery on May 12.
The Hawks, who entered the contest still playing for something, received 36 points and 11 assists from Trae Young while Caris LeVert hopped off the bench and poured in 31 points. Atlanta will officially be the No. 8 seed as it enters the play-in tournament to take on the Orlando Magic.
Adem Bona had 18 points and six rebounds for the Sixers while Marcus Bagley had 20 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists and Jared Butler had 25 and seven assists. Lonnie Walker IV added 12 points and five rebounds while Ricky Council IV had 10 and seven rebounds and Colin Castleton added 16 and eight rebounds.
Here are the three biggest takeaways from the loss to the Hawks:
Bagley finally seeing the ball go through
Bagley was somebody the Sixers were continuing to be impressed with due to his energy, athleticism, and high basketball IQ. However, he struggled mightily shooting the ball before seeing some go through the hoop against the Hawks. He entered the night shooting just 1-for-21 from deep, but he shot 4-for-8 from beyond the arc on Friday. He stuffed the stat sheet and gave the Sixers a big boost on both ends of the floor.
"Yeah, I mean, I think again, he’s had some opportunities," coach Nick Nurse said of Bagley's big night. "It’s part of getting comfortable a little bit, I think. If you look at it before the game, you’d say that’s a good game. 20,10, five, and hitting four 3s--that’s a pretty good game. A lot of minutes too for him. I think probably a few too many, he was pretty tired out there, but yeah, he looked good."
Bona taking steps forward on the offensive end
Bona has shown all season long that he can be somebody the Sixers can rely on as a big man. He has been terrific on the defensive end as somebody who can protect the rim and give Philadelphia some help on the back end of the defense, but it has been the offensive end where he has taken some big strides. He shot 8-for-9 from the floor against the Hawks and was a presence in the paint. These big steps forward are going to be hugely important in his career as he looks to establish himself in the league.
"His finishing has gotten much better," Nurse said of Bona. "He’s figuring out a way. First of all, he’s ...
