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"Best" and "Worst" awards: Sixers vs. Hawks

ATLANTA – My look at some of the best and worst performances and happenings from the Atlanta Hawks' 91-85 victory over the 76ers at Philips Arena on Saturday:

Best performance: It would be insane to not give this award to Al Horford, who is making a habit of feasting on the Sixers.  The Hawks center finished with game highs of 23 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots. This came after Horford posted his first career triple-double (21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists) in a 105-87 victory over the Sixers at Wells Fargo Center on Jan. 13. On Saturday, Horford scored 17 of his points after intermission with 11 coming in the fourth quarter. None were bigger than the four he sandwiched around a Dennis Schroder three-pointer to give the Hawks a 88-83 lead with 47.1 seconds left.

Worst performance: Kent Bazemore really struggled in his first start at small forward. The Hawk had three points on 1-for-6 shooting and had more personal fouls (4) than rebounds (3).

Best defensive performance: This award goes to Horford. In addition to blocking three shots, nine of his 11 rebounds came on the defensive end.

Best performance in a losing effort: Nerlens Noel gets this one. The Sixers rookie center showed why he's highly regarded by the franchise, finishing with 11 points on 5-for-8 shooting to go with 10 rebounds and two blocked shots. His dunk with 2 minutes, 52 seconds left gave the Sixers their lone lead (83-81) of the game. The former Kentucky standout did make a miscue on the defensive end that led Schroder's three-pointer. But that didn't take away from his solid effort.

Worst statistic:  This goes to the Sixers' foul shooting. They shot just 60 percent (9-for-15).


Best statistic: This had to go to the Sixers' three-point shooting. They made a season-best 14 threes and shot 40 percent (14 of 35).

Worst of the Worst: This goes with the Sixers' failure to score in the final 6:51 of the first quarter. They missed four field goals, two foul shots and committed seven turnovers during that ugly stretch.

Follow and contact Inquirer 76ers beat writer Keith Pompey on Twitter @PompeyOnSixers and on Instagram at PompeyOnSixers