PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Even with Joel Embiid, it was the Philadelphia 76ers' bench brigade which helped even their Eastern Conference Semifinal series with the Atlanta Hawks.
Embiid more than did his part with another superhuman performance on a bad knee, but a second half surge by the reserves helped the Sixers take Game 2.
The series now shifts to Atlanta for Games 3 and 4, and Coach Doc Rivers will likely continue to go deep into his bench.
Veteran George Hill wouldn't be surprised considering the success of the rotation during the regular season.
"He’s been a deep rotation guy throughout the season," said Hill.
"I think he’s more the coach that wants to keep everything the same. We’ve been good all year playing a lot of guys, and he thinks we can still continue to be good all year playing a lot of guys."
Much of the team's success still revolves around Embiid, who put up 43 points in Game 2.
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Rivers knows he has the advantage of having the most talented player in the series on his roster, but also understands the rest of the players must step up if the Sixers hope to advance.
"We have a guy you can always go to," Rivers said.
"But that can be fool's gold for the rest of the guys. You still have to make sure that everyone is contributing. The better the other guys play, the easier it is for your trump card to be more dominant."
Even with Embiid's dominant performance, Shake Milton stole the show by heating up in the second half.
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Milton netted 14 points in 14 minutes and provided a much-needed spark after Atlanta took the lead late in the third quarter.
After struggling earlier in the playoffs, Milton was ready when called upon.
"He’s been a positive for our second unit all year," said Hill.
"I think he’s a guy who’s going to continue to stay ready and when the coach calls his name, he’s going to in their and do what he does best, and that’s score the ball."
Milton is one of many bench players who have had ups and downs, but he also has the confidence of the coaching staff.
He knew he would get another opportunity to make an impact before Game 2, and now is hoping to follow up with another strong performance in Game 3 on Friday night.
"You’ve just got to be ready," Milton said.
"You don’t really know what’s going to happen or how many minutes you’re going to play. Whether it’s one or 15, you’ve just got to be ready. Whenever your number is called, you’ve just got to make the most of your opportunity."