Atlanta Hawks forward John Collins was in a good mood on Sunday night, and with good reason.
After watching his Hawks beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 103-96, Collins was all smiles. Maybe it was because he was going through three losing seasons in Atlanta. Maybe it was because he was wearing a T-shirt with a picture of his dunk at Sixers center Joel Embiid from Game 6.
Either way, Hawke, the longest-serving man on the roster in four seasons, was a swinger.
"Everyone's fired," Collins said. "We've worked all year to live in moments like these. Game 7, I think we all had each other's backs. We wanted nothing more than tonight. We headed to the win. Grow up."
In Collins' first three seasons in Atlanta, the Hawks were 73–158, the fourth-worst win percentage in that period (2017–20). Last season, he was not invited to the Bubbles in Orlando. The losses just kept piling up. And things didn't seem to be improving even as the 2020-21 season started.
The Hawks were 14-20 on March 1 and had let go of their head coach. Three and a half months later, they are entering the Eastern Conference finals. It was the franchise's first win in 10 attempts at Road Game 7. The victory sends him to the conference finals for only the second time in the past 50 years - and a place that seemed unimaginable to many when Nate McMillan took over as interim coach for Lloyd Pierce.
Asked if he thought this was possible when he took over, McMillan instead explained what he was trying to build as the new charge.
"What we tried to do was to create a culture that would win and create a style that would give these guys a chance to win games," McMillan said. "It's the honor of the game. You play the game with effort every night. You play the game together. And you trust each other.
"These were the things I was trying to build with this group. I thought we had some talent, even if it was young talent. If we could get it into our system and basically execute And can learn to play to win, so I thought we could win some games."
The Hawks are only the third team under the current playoff format (since 1984) to make the conference finals when Atlanta were 16–20, despite having a losing record in the All-Star break. The other two teams to do so—the 2012 Celtics (15–17) and the 1984 Suns (19–24)—didn't make the NBA Finals.
McMillan is also the seventh coach in NBA history to lead a team to the conference finals during a season in which he became head coach during the season. The last four coaches to do so – Tyrone Lew (2016 Cavaliers), Pat Riley (twice: 2006 Heat, 1982 Lakers) and Paul Westhead (1980 Lakers) – have all led their teams to NBA championships.
The Hawks came up with three wins on the road to lead the series and did so despite star guard Trae Young's poor shooting night. The third-year point guard, who had remained steady in the playoffs, shot 5-of-23 off the field and 2-of-11 from the 3-point line.
However, Young came up with his second-turned 3-pointer at a crucial juncture as he covered a 29-foot run with 2:31 to top the Hawks by seven.
The Sixers were able to bring the lead down to one, but after Matisse Thybulle fouled Kevin Huerter in a three-point effort with 54.0 seconds, Huerter pushed the three down to a four-point game. On the ensuing possession, Joel Embiid swung the ball on a spin move as Danilo Gallinari threw the ball away. Huerter picked up the loose ball and threw it to Gallinari, who slammed it home to pacify the Philadelphia loyalist.
The Hawks had to play their second consecutive hostile environment after going through the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in the first round.
"We went and played two tough spots," Young said. "It was a great atmosphere. Loved it. S---liked to talk. Loved everything about it. It was great. We got two wins. I'm happy about it. It's been fun." "
Young finished with 21 points and 10 assists. According to ESPN Stats and Information Research, he became the second player in Hawks history to record a double-double points-assist on the road in a Game 7. The only other Hawk to do so was current Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers.
Young now has 12 consecutive games with at least 20 points and seven assists, the longest streak in post-NBA history.
"The confidence is still there. The confidence is going to stay the same," Young said. "Everyone is happy that we made the Eastern Conference finals but we are not satisfied. It's great that we are here, but we still have a few games left."
The Hawks last made it to the Conference Finals in 2015 when they were eventually swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Prior to this, he had not made the first round of the NBA Finals since the 1969–70 season, when they lost the then-division finals to the Los Angeles Lakers. At that time only one series win was needed to reach this far.
The Hawks last made the NBA Finals in 1961 when the St. Louis Hawks lost to the Boston Celtics.
While Young struggled to leave the field and was interrupted by a knee injury from starting guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, Huerter took on the scoring. He finished with a playoff career-high 27 points. Huerter's regular-season career-high also came in Philadelphia, when he trailed 29 points in his rookie season.
Like Collins, Huerter remembers hearing about development over the past few seasons, but he knew this season should have been different. The Hawks traded for Clint Capela during the previous season and spent the off-season signing free agents such as Gallinari. He made an in-season trade for Lou Williams to help deliver the scoring punch from the bench.
"It's been a long two years. Two years on the east floor has been a long time," Huerter said. "And this year, trying to flip a switch and our whole mindset has changed. The development process was over. Just kind of a culmination up to this point, three year olds just working and believing." What we're trying to build here Atlanta and what we're trying and building here.
"It's been a great three years, but hopefully the ride is just getting started."