By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Returning home after a two-game road trip in Texas, the Philadelphia 76ers (4-4) pulled away in the fourth against a pesky Atlanta Hawks (1-7) sqaud tonight by a final score of 119-109. Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons combined to score 12 points in the final five minutes of the game as Sixers outscored Atlanta 26-16 in the fourth to earn their first home victory of the young season.
Philadelphia reaches the .500 mark on the season for the first time since November 15, 2013, a span of 1,447 days. Their starting lineup the last time they were at .500? Tony Wroten, James Anderson, Evan Turner, Thaddeus Young and Spencer Hawes.
The Sixers dished out 36 assists on the night, a season high, on 46 made field goals. It's also their first three game win streak since February 13 of last season and their first win over the Hawks since March 7, 2015, snapping a seven-game losing streak.
The Sixers got contributions from a handful of guys tonight and the bench had another strong game, carrying over momentum from Monday's win in Houston. Let's start with the main attractions, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. Embiid had just seven points at the half, but finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds, six assists (career-high), three steals and three blocks. 11 of his 21 points came in the final seven minutes. Tonight was big for Embiid, because he eclipsed the 30 minute mark for the first time in his NBA career.
Meanwhile, Ben Simmons had just four points at halftime, but took over in the fourth. He ended the evening an assist shy of a triple-double, finishing with 19 points, 13 rebounds, nine assists and two steals. Two of his points came courtesy of this emphatic jam late in the fourth.
HOLY MOLEY pic.twitter.com/p3dgobWxsZ
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) November 2, 2017
Robert Covington led all Sixers scorers with a 22 points to go along with three boards, three assists and three steals. The Philadelphia bench had a strong night as Amir Johnson (12P/8R/3A), Jerryd Bayless (14P/3A/2R), T.J. McConnell (12P/7A/6R) and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot (6P/2R/2A) combined to shoot 52.6 percent from the floor.
The Sixers came out firing tonight, hitting their first five shots from three. They put together a 25-8 spurt to start the game. Covington scored eight points in the first eight minutes of the game, hitting all three of his field goals, two of which were three's. The Hawks responded with a 12-4 run to cut the Sixers lead to nine with 1:39 left in the first, Philadelphia would lead 34-25 at the end of the quarter, thanks to 60.9 percent shooting from the floor and hitting six of seven from three-point range.
The Hawks chipped away at the lead in the second quarter, as a Dewayne Dedmon three-point play brought Atlanta to within six, 37-31, with 9:20 remaining in the half. The Hawks cut the lead to two with under eight minutes to play, but a Robert Covington three and a McConnell bucket put the Sixers back up seven. With just under three minutes to go, the Sixers displayed some stellar ball movement, ending in a Covington three to extend the lead back to seven, 55-48. Atlanta wouldn't go away though, tying the game with a 9-0 run towards the end of the quarter. The Sixers were clinging to a two-point lead, 59-57, at half.
At halftime, Robert Covington led all scorers with 16 points. The Sixers tallied 21 assists on 24 of their field goals, shooting 50 percent overall and 47.4 percent from beyond the arc. Ben Simmons was quiet in the first 24 minutes of this one, scoring just four points in nine minutes. Embiid finished the half with seven points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block. Meanwhile, Dennis Schroder led Hawks scorers at halftime with 10 points. Taurean Prince, Dewayne Dedmon and Malcolm Delaney each contributed with eight.
Atlanta started the third quarter hot, putting together an 8-0 run to take a 72-66 lead with 7:42 left in the third. Robert Covington's sixth three brought the Sixers back to within two, 75-73, with 6:03 left in the third. Amir Johnson hit a pair of free throws with just under four minutes to play, tying the game at 83. A few possessions later, J.J. Redick penetrated into the lane and found a cutting Johnson for two, putting the Sixers back in front, 87-85. The teams finished the third quarter all tied up at 93.
Philadelphia started the fourth on a 5-0 run to go up 98-93 and the Hawks missed their first 11 shots. They got their first points of the quarter via free throw to cut the lead to four, but Joel Embiid hit a layup on the other end with just over six minutes to play, putting the Sixers back up six, 100-94. A Jerryd Bayless three extended the lead to seven with 4:59 to go. J.J. Redick, having a rough night, hit his first three in six attempts with just under three minutes to go, extending the Sixers advantage to 12, 111-98. They'd close this one out by a final score of 119-109. Clap your hands, everybody!
For the Hawks, Dennis Schroder had a game-high 25 points. Taurean Prince finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds while Luke Babbitt scored 16 in 25 minutes off the bench.
Up Next:
The Sixers host the Indiana Pacers on Friday night. Richaun Holmes is expected to return to action.
