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Young, 76ers finish strong to down Hawks

Jan 21, 2012 - 3:52 AM Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Thaddeus Young scored a game-high 20 points off the bench as the Philadelphia 76ers used a dominant second half to take a 90-76 decision over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.

Jrue Holiday added 16 points and 11 assists, while Elton Brand had 10 points with a season-high 16 rebounds in Philadelphia's fourth win in five games.

Willie Green had 14 points, Jeff Teague netted 12 and Tracy McGrady and Josh Smith added 10 apiece as the Hawks had their four-game win streak come to an end.

The Sixers trailed 47-39 at the half, but after a Joe Johnson jumper put Atlanta ahead 51-44 three minutes into the third quarter, Philadelphia scored the game's next 14 points to give the Sixers their first lead of the contest.

That lead came on Jodie Meeks' three-pointer and a 53-51 advantage. It wasn't the end of the run, though, as Meeks followed that with another trey and a Holiday steal on Atlanta's ensuing touch led to Andre Iguodala's alley-oop dunk, giving the Sixers a 58-51 lead.

The Hawks were held without a point for over five minutes until a Teague free throw put an end to Philadelphia's 14-point swing.

Philadelphia's advantage stretched to 10 points in the third, but Green's shot from half court at the buzzer cut the Sixers' lead to 64-57.

"It got tough for us and we quit. That's what happened," Hawks head coach Larry Drew said about the third quarter. "I'm more disappointed than frustrated. We talked about it at halftime, that team was going to make a run. They made a run and we didn't maintain our composure. It got tough for us and we didn't respond."

The 76ers continued their stifling defensive effort into a fourth quarter in which they lead by double-digits for the majority of action, leading by as much as 18 en route to the win.

Atlanta was held to 34.4 percent from the floor in the second half and were forced into 11 turnovers that lead to 12 Philadelphia points.

"That was an incredible second half for our guys. The activity level defensively was off the charts. Everything we did tonight was triggered off our defense," Philadelphia head coach Doug Collins said.

However, it was a completely different story in the first half as the Hawks used a quick 7-0 run in the middle of the first quarter to take a 17-10 lead.

The Hawks held Philadelphia to a 5-for-17 shooting performance in the first and took a 24-18 advantage into the second quarter.

Atlanta stretched its lead to 35-24 less than four minutes into the second, but the Sixers responded with a 13-6 run to close the gap to four, 41-37, with 3 1/3 minutes left in the half.

The Hawks, though, scored six of the final eight points of the quarter and held a 47-39 lead at the break.

Atlanta shot 50 percent from the floor in the first half, while holding Philadelphia to 34.1 percent, including a 1-for-7 mark from beyond the arc.

Game Notes

76ers center Spencer Hawes missed his second straight game with a strained left Achilles tendon...Iguodala recorded his 1,000th career steal late in the third quarter...Philadelphia shot 48.8 percent in the second half...Meeks finished with 12 points off of four three-pointers.