Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid is defended by Atlanta’s Clint Capela during Game 6 of at Eastern Conference semifinals Friday in Atlanta. Philadelphia stayed alive with a 104-99 win. John Bazemore/Associated Press
ATLANTA — Seth Curry hit six 3-pointers and scored 24 points and the top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers avoided elimination in the Eastern Conference semifinal series by beating the Atlanta Hawks 104-99 in Game 6 on Friday night.
The 76ers overcame Trae Young’s 34-point effort to force Game 7 on Sunday night in Philadelphia.
Tobias Harris also had 24 points, making four free throws in the final 13 seconds to protect the lead. Joel Embiid added 22 points and 13 rebounds.
Young’s long 3, just before the shot clock expired, cut Philadelphia’s lead to 94-93. Embiid answered with a basket. Free throws by Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, who scored 16 points off the bench, pushed the advantage to 98-93.
After rallying from deficits of 18 and 26 points in their last two wins, the Hawks finally started strong. Atlanta led by 12 points in the first quarter and never trailed in the first half.
But the 76ers opened the second half with a flurry of four 3s, including three by Curry, for a 12-0 run and a 59-51 lead.
NOTES
OLYMPICS: Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal has committed to playing for the U.S. at the Tokyo Olympics, according to a person with knowledge of the decision who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team has not been revealed publicly.
It’ll be the first Olympic appearance for Beal, who was a candidate for the team that won gold at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016 and again for the U.S. team that finished seventh at the Basketball World Cup in China two years ago. Beal wound up withdrawing from consideration in 2016 because of injury concerns, and in 2019 for family reasons.
The Athletic first reported that Beal had made the decision to play.
Beal, a three-time All-Star who was announced earlier this week as an All-NBA selection for the first time, averaged a career-best 31.3 points for Washington this season.
MAVERICKS: Dirk Nowitzki is joining Dallas as an adviser in the wake of the abrupt departures of general manager Donnie Nelson and coach Rick Carlisle.
The franchise leader in nearly every category said Friday he considered Nelson and Carlisle mentors and wanted to do what he could to help the Mavericks find their replacements and build for the future.
Nowitzki, who turns 43 on Saturday, retired two years ago after playing one season with young superstar Luka Doncic. The 7-foot German set an NBA record by spending all 21 seasons with the Mavericks, leading them to the 2011 championship.
Nelson, who has strong ties to European basketball, discovered Nowitzki and Doncic when both were teenagers, about two decades part.
Dallas traded down two spots in 1998 to end up with Nowitzki. Mark Cuban bought the team two years later and developed a bond with Nowitzki that helped keep him in Dallas.
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