PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Dwight Howard has Atlanta revved up for a playoff push.
“Our focus should be, we need to step on the floor from the tip,” he said.
The Hawks also hope they’re done with the detour through lengthy losing streaks that almost derailed their drive.
Howard had 22 points and 20 rebounds to lead the Hawks to a 99-92 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.
The Hawks have won two straight following a seven-game losing streak that stunted their push in the Eastern Conference playoff standings. Atlanta is still in the fight for a fifth seed with Milwaukee, Indiana and Miami. The Hawks boosted their playoff hopes with a win a night earlier against Phoenix.
“We gave seven games away,” Howard said. “We need these games going into the playoffs. I thought the level of play was pretty good over most of those games.”
Tim Hardaway Jr. and Kent Bazemore each scored 19 points for the Hawks.
Richaun Holmes led the Sixers with 25 points and Dario Saric had 15. Saric was only 5 of 18 from the floor, but remains the leading contender for NBA Rookie of the Year.
The Hawks led by as many as 11 points, but struggled to put the Sixers away.
Nicknamed “Simba,” Justin Anderson had the Sixers fans roaring when his monster dunk cut it to 83-81. He converted a three-point play that pulled the Sixers within four and kept alive the hope they could knock off playoff-bound Atlanta.
The short-handed Sixers (they had only eight players) had the verve but not the talented depth to do much more than keep it close down the stretch.
Coach Brett Brown remained optimistic that better days are ahead for the Sixers and these are the type of games they win with a healthy core.
“I’ve got, like, nine or 10 guys that we can legitimately move forward,” he said. “That wasn’t that many (in prior years) when we were circling three or four, maybe five. This year is different. For that reason, you feel like the corporate knowledge and the purpose of what we’re teaching and how we’re growing these guys has a greater chance to be with us next year.”
Howard, shooting 53 percent from the line, extended Atlanta’s lead from the line and he grabbed his 20th rebound with about 48 seconds left to help seal the win. Howard actually shot 6 of 7 from the line and was 8 of 17 from the floor.
Holmes was charged with stopping Howard and found the player called “Superman” was out to dominate.
“I just tried to make him work as much as possible on the defensive end, and try to go at him; not just take my lumps on the defensive end but give him something, too,” he said.
TIP-INS
Hawks: The Hawks went 4-0 against the Sixers this season and have won seven straight against them overall. Atlanta swept the Sixers for the seventh time in franchise history. … Howard has 10-plus rebounds in 17 straight games.
Sixers: Missed 14 of 20 3s in the first half. … Jahlil Okafor (right knee) and Robert Covington (right knee) sat out. … Brown stormed out to midcourt to argue with the refs and was hit with a technical.
GOOD EFFORT
A season after the Sixers won 10 games, they’ve reached their highest win total in Brown’s four seasons. Joel Embiid’s rookie season was cut short with injuries and No. 1 overall draft pick Ben Simmons never played because of a broken foot. Brown said the Sixers have “fought in a higher weight class all year,” and smart moves in the draft and free agency could raise expectations.
“There’s not anybody that you say had a rough year this year. Not any of them,” he said. “That collective stuff trumps individual stuff and we have exceeded expectations and have milked and squeezed everything possible out of this group. I’m enamored with these guys. I respect them. I enjoy coaching them.”
He added: “This group has exceeded expectations all over the place. We will reap the benefit of that spirit and attitude and that excitement with a very, very calculated disciplined summer.”
UP NEXT
Hawks: finish a three-game road trip Saturday at Chicago and Sunday at Brooklyn.
Sixers: hit the road for two games, playing Friday at Cleveland and Sunday at Toronto.
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