To no one’s surprise, the Sixers will not conclude the season on a winning streak.
They fell to a 124-110 loss to the Hawks on Friday night at Wells Fargo Center in their penultimate game, dropping to 24-57 overall. The Hawks moved to 39-42.
The Sixers are now locked into the fifth-best odds in the NBA draft lottery. They’ll keep their first-round pick if it falls within the top six.
Jared Butler led the Sixers with 25 points and seven assists. Marcus Bagley had 20 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two blocks.
Atlanta’s Trae Young tallied 36 points and 11 assists. Caris LeVert scored 31 points.
As usual this season, the Sixers’ injury report was lengthy; they only had eight available players. The team announced pregame that Joel Embiid underwent successful arthroscopic surgery Wednesday on his left knee.
The Sixers’ season finale is set for Sunday afternoon vs. the Bulls. Here are observations on their defeat to Atlanta:
Bagley breaks his ice
The 2024-25 Sixers used their 54th starting lineup Friday in Butler, Lonnie Walker IV, Ricky Council IV, Bagley and Adem Bona.
Every starter besides Council reached double-figure points by halftime. Butler was aggressive early as both a driver and outside shooter. Walker dealt with foul trouble but found a groove in the second quarter.
Bagley’s shotmaking was unexpected. He’d been chipping in for the Sixers with offensive rebounding and smart cutting, but his jumpers had been wayward. Ahead of Friday’s game, the 23-year-old forward was 1 for 21 from three-point range in the NBA over his two 10-day contracts with the Sixers.
He was apparently due for a hot night. Bagley swished one jumper from the right corner and then nailed one from the left about a minute later. He shot 4 for 5 beyond the arc in the first half.
Bona growing offensively
Bona’s offensive progress was certainly evident in his eighth consecutive start.
His work around the basket was powerful and crafty, including some subtle pump fakes. Bona also made a textbook post-up jump hook as the shot clock was winding down and an elegant lefty layup after deking a handoff.
The rookie big man needed just seven field goal attempts to record 14 first-half points. He’s rightfully known most for his defensive abilities, but Bona’s offense is absolutely trending up.
In his past three games, Bona’s totaled 51 points on 21-for-28 shooting. He scored 28 points last week vs. the Bucks, too.
Hawks’ bench wins the night
The Sixers held a six-point halftime lead, but Atlanta started the third quarter well and went up 74-70 on a long-range Young jumper.
Along with Young’s stardom, LeVert’s big night helped the Hawks overcome their subpar first half. LeVert made his first eight field goals and drained a rainbow three with 1.7 seconds left in the third quarter. Georges Niang also added 16 points off of Atlanta’s bench.
Colin Castleton had the best outing of the Sixers’ three-man second unit, playing a productive, efficient game behind Bona with 16 points on 6-for-7 shooting and eight rebounds. Jeff Dowtin Jr. (1 for 11 from the floor) and Jalen Hood-Schifino (3 for 11) each had rough shooting nights.
Another LeVert triple extended the Hawks’ lead to 111-98 with a little under seven minutes remaining and the Sixers couldn’t make any sort of last-ditch comeback.
One more to go until their nightmare of a season is history.
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