Embiid delivers 40 points as Sixers even series with Hawks

LOS ANGELES: Joel Embiid scored a career playoff high 40 points and added 13 rebounds as the top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers toppled the Atlanta Hawks 118-102 on Tuesday to level their Eastern Conference series at one game each.

Tobias Harris tallied 22 points, Seth Curry finished with 21 and five threes, and Shake Milton came off the bench to score 14 points as the Sixers reserves scored 26 points in the second half in front of a crowd of 18,600 at Wells Fargo Center.

Game three in the best-of-seven series will be played Friday in Atlanta.

Embiid is playing despite being diagnosed with a lateral meniscus tear in his knee. After eliminating the Washington Wizards in five games, Philadelphia came into the series knowing that all-star Embiid would be playing with a small tear in his right knee.

Trae Young, who was the star of game one, finished with 21 points and 11 assists.

He came into the game averaging 30.2 points in the postseason.

Danilo Gallinari had 21 points and nine rebounds, and Kevin Huerter added a playoff-career-high 20 for the fifth-seeded Hawks.

Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 14 points while Clint Capela had 10.

The Hawks had a 14-20 record when coach Lloyd Pierce was fired and Nate McMillan took over on an interim basis. Including the playoffs, the Hawks are 32-13 since then.

Hawks forward De'Andre Hunter missed his second straight game because of right knee soreness.