WOW! Sixers win a wild one in Miami, keeping hopes of avoiding the Play-In alive
Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid were absolute superstars and the Sixers’ defense was outstanding down the stretch as the beat the Heat and draw closer in the East standings. The Philadelphia 76ers won 109-105 over the Miami Heat in a thrilling game, ending their season series at 2-2. Tyrese Maxey returned from a two-game absence to score 37 points, including nine rebounds and 11 assists, marking a career-high. Joel Embiid scored 29 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. had a strong second half, finishing with 18 points. This win puts the Sixers one game behind the Heat for the sixth seed and half a game behind Indiana Pacers from the seventh seed. Tobias Harris was out due to a left knee contusion. The game was marked by a period of sloppiness, with both teams ending with missed bunnies.
Published : 4 weeks ago by Josh Grieb in
Just another stress-free two-and-a-half hours of Sixers basketball.
Philadelphia was victorious 109-105 over the Miami Heat Thursday night, evening up a crucial season series at 2-2.
Tyrese Maxey returned to the lineup after a two-game absence and dropped 37 points, along with nine rebounds and 11 assists, which tied a career-high.
Joel Embiid went for 29 points in just under 33 minutes of action, shooting 11-of-25 from the floor. Kelly Oubre Jr. had another big second half, finishing with 18 points.
This win puts the Sixers one game behind the Heat for the sixth seed and half a game behind the Indiana Pacers from the seventh seed with five games to go.
The Sixers were without Tobias Harris, who was ruled out for the night due to a left knee contusion.
Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.
• You couldn’t ask for a better start for Philly, as the Sixers made their first four shots of the floor while the Heat missed their first four. Maxey scored eight of the game’s first 10 points as the hot start prompted a very quick timeout from Erik Spoelstra.
• That start happened with Embiid hardly touching the basketball, but it didn’t take him long to hit the ground running. He knocked down a pair of midrange jumpers out of the timeout, on his way to shooting 5-of-7 from the field in the first.
• Miami countered with a 10-2 run in the middle of the quarter, and that was squashed with some more insane shotmaking from Maxey. He capped off his 15-point first with a step-back three. The Sixers really could have gotten out to big lead after one, but turning it over twice in the final minute helped the Heat cut the lead to 10 points.
• Miami opened the second in their zone, and the Sixers attacked that zone fairly well. They got plenty of threes during this stretch that were wide open. None of them fell though, and the Heat opened the quarter with another 10-2 run. This time it was Nick Nurse calling a quick timeout.
• Meanwhile on the other end, the Heat did a good job of drawing Embiid away from the paint. They were constantly trying to get him switched onto Haywood Highsmith or Jamie Jacquez Jr., making Embiid have to choose between leaving the paint or leaving a shooter wide open, and Miami got tons of good looks at the rim as a result.
• Impressively, the Sixers were able to start their next run with the big fella on the bench. They got a 20-1 run going thanks to another burst from Maxey. Paul Reed also had a nice shift filling in for the big fella. He had a sequence where he spun through Miami’s zone for a bucket, then stood up Bam Adebayo on the other end for a shot clock violation.
• Once again, the Heat were able to snatch the momentum from the Sixers right at the end of the quarter. Terry Rozier intercepted a bad Embiid pass, then just made it far enough up the floor to hit a deep three before time expired. That shot cut the lead back under double digits as the Sixers led by eight at the half.
• The early returns on the Embiid and Lowry pairing have been great so far. To start the second half, Lowry dumped the ball to Embiid at the top of the key, then just screened his defender to give Embiid an open midrange. Embiid hasn’t really worked with a guard who screens well before, and Lowry is one of the best at that. Lowry was also able to get himself a couple jumpers off more traditional pick-and-rolls.
• The third quarter was the first prolonged stretch of this game where neither team dominated the other. The Sixers got just enough shotmaking to keep the Heat at arms’ length. Maxey struggled to get all the way to the rim, but his midrange during this period was superb.
• Some Sixers looked better than others, but the only one downright struggling was Buddy Hield. He was 0-of-4 from beyond the arc, and couldn’t even get on the board with a transition layup. His only two points through three quarters came from the free throw line.
• Another quarter ended with another Miami run. This 10-0 run was fueled by missed bunnies for the Sixers. An and-1 from Butler put the Heat back in front by one point at the end of three.
• Philly opened the final quarter with a sloppiness they had been ending quarters with this game. They turned it over three times and missed another layup, letting the Heat get out to take a lead for the first time.
• Needing another run with Embiid on the bench, the Sixers got exactly that. Maxey snapped a three-minute field goal drought with a midrange jumper. Kelly Oubre Jr., once again doing the bulk of his scoring in the second half, capped off the run with a corner three that gave the Sixers a one-point lead as Embiid returned to the scorer’s table.
• The Sixers settled for a ton of jumpers trying to put the game away, but couldn’t get any to fall. Thankfully a fast break from Oubre gave them all the points they needed to come away with the win. For as much of an offensive explosion this game was for Philly, their defense won them the game in the final minutes.
• The Sixers will wrap up their final road trip of the regular season with a weekend back-to-back. They’ll kick things off in Memphis Saturday, when they’ll take on the Grizzlies at 8 p.m. ET.