"Underdog mentality" key to another Hawks stunner

Trae Young says the Atlanta Hawks have taken an "underdog mentality" into their series against the top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers, and their approach certainly seems to be working. 

The Hawks mounted an impressive comeback for the second consecutive game to stun the Sixers 109-106 in Philadelphia on Wednesday and take a 3-2 lead in their Eastern Conference semi-final series. 

Trailing by as many as 26 points in the third quarter in Game 5 after fighting back from 18 down to win Game 4, the Hawks never think they are out of a game. 

"You talk about an underdog -- for a team that has no All-Stars, no All-Defensive players, no All-NBA players, this team is fighting," said Young, who led all scorers with 39 points. 

"We're in the second round of the playoffs and I think we've just had that chip on our shoulder all year. ... We're playing with that underdog mentality."

Young leads Hawks comeback

A year after finishing at 20-47, the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference, the Hawks are now one win away from a spot in the conference finals. 

"We haven't finished the job yet. We've still got one more game we've got to do," said Young. 

"Thankfully we're going back home playing in front of our fans and on our court. It's going to be fun."

Added Atlanta's interim head coach Nate McMillan, who replaced the fired Lloyd Pierce on March 1: "If you don't believe, you better believe now." 

On the other side, the 76ers were trying to maintain their belief after a second consecutive disappointment. 

Ben Simmons told reporters he believed the team got "too comfortable" with their second-half lead and slowed the game down too much. 

"We weren't pushing the ball as much, weren't moving as much. We've got to be consistent," he said.

"Even if we do get that lead, we can't be happy with that. We've got to keep going, we've got to act like the game's 0-0."

Still, Simmons said, the 76ers know the series is far from over. 

"This one stings, this one hurts, but we've got to do our job and get the win in Atlanta," he said. 

"We're obviously capable of doing that; we know what we're capable of as a team. We've just got to go do it."