Trae Young scores 35 points and Atlanta wins the series opener on the road despite the return of Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid.
PHILADELPHIA — Trae Young put an early smackdown on Philly and again rose to the occasion in the playoffs for a Hawks team that wasted no time grabbing control of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Young scored 25 of his 35 points in the first half as Atlanta shook off Joel Embiid and a hostile crowd and held on to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 128-124 Sunday in Game 1. Embiid raised a sledgehammer as he returned from a one-game absence with a cartilage tear in his right knee. He walked out with WWE star Triple H to a roaring ovation. But Young and the Hawks had the Sixers down for the count from the jump. The Sixers’ rally came too late as they pulled within three with 1:01 left on consecutive baskets from Embiid. Atlanta’s Bogdan Bogdanovic put his fingers to his lips and shushed the raucous crowd after he hit a 3 that sealed the win.
