76ers lose to Hawks, 120-117

Keith Pompey, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Dec 14, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

ATLANTA — Paul George is moving well.

Joel Embiid is making progress in his recovery.

VJ Edgecombe showed in the third quarter why he needs to be more involved.

Yet, the Philadelphia 76ers had a tough time making key defensive stops. And when they finally did, they struggled to score late.

Here are some takeaways from the 76ers' 120-117 loss to the Atlanta Hawks Sunday at State Farm Arena.

George’s star shining bright

This matchup might have been George’s best performance of the season, considering the versatility he displayed in Friday’s victory over the Indiana Pacers.

But against the Hawks, George took his ballhandling, scoring and defense to another level. He showed no signs of someone dealing with left knee injury management. As a result, the nine-time All-Star exhibited why the Sixers gave him a four-year, $211.5 million deal last year to form a Big Three with Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.

George finished with 35 points while making 7 of 10 3-pointers. The 6-foot-8, 220-pound forward also had four rebounds, three assists and one block. He scored nine of his points on 3-for-6 shooting — while making both of his three-pointers — in the second quarter.

Embiid ramping up

At the start of the season, Embiid needed at least two full days in between games to play. For instance, if the Sixers center played on a Monday, he wouldn’t play again until Thursday of that week.

But that changed on Sunday.

Embiid was back on the court after scoring a season-high 39 points on Friday. After that game, the 2023 MVP, who is dealing with knee issues, said he would petition to play against the Hawks. And his presence was needed with Maxey, the team’s leading scorer, missing his second straight game with an illness.

Embiid didn’t shoot the ball well, making just 8 of 20 shots. However, he finished with 22 points, a season-high 14 rebounds and two blocks for his first double-double of the season.

His ability to play on limited days of rest is a good sign for the Sixers moving forward.

Edgecombe’s dominant quarter

The night started poorly for Edgecombe, who was summoned to the bench early in the first quarter after picking up two fouls. But he settled down upon his return, and was in video game mode in the third quarter.

That’s when the rookie shooting guard scored 17 of his 26 points. He did that while making 5 of 7 shots — including all three of his 3-pointers — along with going 4-for-4 from the foul line while playing the entire quarter.

Edgecombe has been solid for the Sixers for most of the season. It’s just been a matter of keeping him involved. He gave the crowd in Atlanta a glimpse of what he can do when the offense runs through him.

Defense improvement equals poor offensive possession

The Sixers made clutch shots and kept mounting comeback attempts. They also had some solid defensive play, highlighted by Andre Drummond’s two blocked shots in the third quarter.

But it just seemed like whenever the Hawks really needed to make a basket, they did. A prime example was Onyeka Okongwu’s 3-pointers to give the Hawks a 114-109 lead with 3 minutes, 31 seconds remaining. That shot squashed a 13-5 run by the Sixers.

Then, after Quentin Grimes’ 3-pointer closed the gap to one point with 1:03 left, the Sixers made a defensive stop. However, they couldn’t score on their final two possessions.

Their ensuing possession concluded with George and Grimes missing 3-pointers in appeared to be a few seconds of chaos. Then after Nickeil Alexander-Walker made a pair of foul shot to give Atlanta a three-point cushion, Grimes missed a potential game-tying three at the buzzer.