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The 2021 NBA playoffs round two concluded on Sunday night with the Atlanta Hawks toppling the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 of their series. This set up an NBA Conference Finals meeting for the Atlanta Hawks with the Milwaukee Bucks.
All eight teams that featured in round two gave it everything they had to get through to the next round. As always, multiple records were broken in the process, as teams and players produced staggering numbers to tilt games in their favor.
Not all records were something certain teams and players would have been proud of, though, as it led to them to fail miserably in the pursuit of their aims and objectives. On that note, let's find out 5 stats that were highly influential in the eventual scheme of things during round two of the 2021 NBA playoffs.
#5 Monumental comeback wins
The 2021 NBA playoffs have been highly unpredictable so far. Almost every other game that took place was decided down the stretch, with teams refusing to back down from fighting their way to winning a contest.
The Atlanta Hawks were one such side that kept on fighting until the last minute of the game. They eventually got through to the next round, overcoming the Philadelphia 76ers, who were the favorite to reach the NBA Conference Finals.
The Hawks were trailing by 18 points in Game 4 at one stage and were staring at their third consecutive defeat of the series, which could have seen them go 3-1 down. However, Trae Young came alive to save the match for his team, scoring 17 of his 25 points in the second half alone to snatch the win from the Sixers.
It proved to be the turning point of the series.
The Hawks bettered this achievement in Game 5. This time they were down 26 points at one stage and were still able to win the tie 109-106. The Sixers had a 97.5% chance of winning the contest with 4 minutes left on the game clock. It was Trae Young once again who rose to the occasion, amassing 39 points.
The two wins gave the Atlanta Hawks immense confidence as they went 3-2 up. Despite losing Game 6, they were able to stand their ground in the series decider to eventually advance to their first NBA Conference Finals in six years.
The LA Clippers were the other team to achieve a solid comeback win that saw them clinch the series against the Utah Jazz in the closeout Game 6 contest. The Clippers were down 25 points but showed tremendous grit to defeat Utah 131-119 and make their first NBA Conference Finals appearance.
#4 Atlanta Hawks go through despite Trae Young shooting 21.7% from the field; worst record in NBA playoffs history in a Game 7 contest
Trae Young made just five field goals on 23 attempts in Game 7 of the series against the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday night. Despite that, he ended up scoring 21 points, with nine points coming through free throws.
In a game of that stature, a team's best player shooting that bad would likely lead them to lose the tie. However, that did not happen to be the case for the Atlanta Hawks, who ended up winning the tie and advancing to the next round of the 2021 NBA playoffs.
#3 Ben Simmons shooting woes cost the Philadelphia 76ers the series vs Atlanta Hawks
Ben Simmons had a miserable 2021 NBA playoffs. The Philadelphia 76ers point guard was as dominant as ever at the defensive end, but his offensive woes were exposed in the series against the Atlanta Hawks big-time.
Simmons converted just 34.2% of his free throw attempts, the worst ever for a player in the NBA playoffs history with at least 70 attempts.
He played 34 minutes across the fourth quarter of Games 4, 5, 6 and 7 of the series and recorded 0 field goal attempts. The Sixers ended up losing three of those games, including Game 7, in which Simmons passed an easy layup. This could have turned the match in favor of the 76ers, who were down by 2 points.
#2 Kevin Durant scores 49-point triple-double playing every minute of Game 5 against the Milwaukee Bucks; saves the Brooklyn Nets single-handedly
After Kevin Durant suffered a torn Achilles in the 2019 NBA finals, many wondered if he could do the things he is used to doing on a basketball court and whether he will ever be back to his best.
He truly answered that question in Game 5 of the series against the Milwaukee Bucks. He recorded 49 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists, single-handedly overturning a 16-point deficit to lead the Nets to a win.
On top of that, Durant played every single minute of the match. He was the first player to record a 45/15/10 game in NBA playoffs history.
The win helped the Nets level a 3-2 lead and put them in the driver's seat in the series. However, Kyrie Irving's absence and James Harden playing through injury saw them lose to the Bucks in Game 7 as they lost the series 4-3.
Durant did everything he could, forcing Game 7 into overtime with a deep jumper, which was marginally recorded as a two-pointer. He played a staggering 142 of 149 minutes in the last three games of the series.
#1 Doc Rivers loses 29th series-deciding game; most for a head coach in NBA playoffs history
Doc Rivers endured yet another year with an unexpected exit from the NBA playoffs. After last year's heartbreak, where his LA Clippers lost to the Denver Nuggets despite having a 3-1 advantage, this year it was the Atlanta Hawks, who came back from 2-1 down and beat his Sixers at home in Game 7.
It was a record 29th time in his head coaching career that a side coached by him lost a series-deciding game.
