The Sixer Sense
Fansided

RECAP: Miami Heat 108, Philadelphia 76ers 99

By Tyler King

MIAMI, FL - MARCH 8: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers reacts to a play against the Miami Heat on March 8, 2018 at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - MARCH 8: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers reacts to a play against the Miami Heat on March 8, 2018 at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Philadelphia 76ers fall to 35-29 on the season and sit just one game ahead of the Heat for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference.

We’ve seen time and time again this season that the Philadelphia 76ers live and die by their star big man.

That was the case against Heat on Thursday night and it was clear from the start night that Joel Embiid was in dire need of a rest and his play reflected it all night long.

Despite holding a slim, 74-73 lead heading into the fourth quarter, the Sixers were not able to keep up with the Heat in the final 12 minutes of the game and ultimately fell by a final of 108-99.

The Heat shot the ball well from 3-point range all night long, finish gin with a percentage just under 54 for the night.

In the latest edition of this budding rivalry between the two young big men, Hassan Whiteside got the best of Embiid. Whiteside looked much more active throughout the night, finishing with 26 points on 9-12 shooting and grabbing eight rebounds.

Justise Winslow also hit some key 3-pointers for the Heat in the fourth quarter to help put the Sixers away. The former national champion from Duke finished with just X points, all of which came from beyond the arc, but his buckets were timely.

Dwyane Wade also continues to torch the Sixers since his return to Miami with another impressive fourth quarter performance. The future Hall of Fame finished with 16 points, including the dagger alley-oop slam dunk in the final minute.

Now let’s get into some game grades for the Sixers.

A-. 30 mins | 18 pts | 3 reb | 5 ast | 0 stl | 0 blk | 0 TO | 6-11 FG | 4-6 3PT| 2-2 FT | 1 PF | 6 +/-|<p><strong>Summary</strong>: Redick was one of the lone bright spots offensively for the Sixers on Thursday night. The team as a whole played some bad defense in the first half, but Redick looked like one of the few players that showed consistent effort. His 3-pointers consistently bailed out the team in the midst of some poor offensive stretches that led to careless turnovers.</p>. SG. Philadelphia 76ers. J.J. REDICK

31 mins | 20 pts | 10 reb | 4 ast | 0 stl | 0 blk | 6 TO | 5-10 FG | 4-7 3PT| 6-7 FT | 2 PF | -15 +/-|<p><strong>Summary</strong>: Saric continued his hot shooting and bailed out the Sixers at times with his 3-pointers, but his defense was not very sharp and that resulted in his poor plus-minus. He looked like he too had a case of the tired legs on Thursday night.</p>. PF. Philadelphia 76ers. DARIO SARIC. B

B-. 35 mins | 10 pts | 8 reb | 8 ast | 3 stl | 2 blk | 5 TO | 5-10 FG | 2 PF | -7 +/-|<p><strong>Summary</strong>: Simmons was one of the few players on the floor for the Sixers that looked fresh and it showed early on. He carried the team offensively and had two powerful dunks in the first quarter, but he disappeared in the second half. His defense continued to be impressive and he finished with two blocks. But the rookie had too many turnovers that led to easy buckets and was one of the reasons the Heat were able to pull away.</p>. PG. Philadelphia 76ers. BEN SIMMONS

JOEL EMBIID. C. 28 mins | 17 pts | 7 reb | 3 ast | 0 stl | 0 blk | 1 TO | 5-18 FG | 3-6 3PT| 4-7 FT | 5 PF | 0 +/-|<p><strong>Summary:</strong> The story of the night was the lack of production the Sixers got from Embiid. He looked gassed in the first quarter and his shots reflected that. Embiid consistently came up short on his shot attempts and wasn’t drawing the fouls he usually does. He’ll look forward to some much needed rest.</p>. C. Philadelphia 76ers

SF. Philadelphia 76ers. ROBERT COVINGTON. F. 28 mins | 3 pts | 7 reb | 3 ast | 5 stl | 1 blk | 0 TO | 0-10 FG | 0-5 3PT| 3-4 FT | 2 PF | -18 +/-|<p><strong>Summary:</strong> Covington struggled again from the field, failing to make a shot all night. He was the Sixers’ biggest liability as he didn’t have the effort needed to keep up with the Heat on the defensive end, which is why Brett Brown opted to go with <a rel=

Up Next

The Sixers will wrap up their current four-game road trip in Brooklyn on Sunday night against the Nets.

This will be a key game for the group as they look to improve their playoff position as the regular season winds down. They can’t afford another loss to a bad team and it’s time to start taking care of business in games they should win.

Next: LeBron has the Sixers on his free agency short list

Hopefully the next 72 hours of rest will help the Embiid, Covington and others get fresh in order to put up a good performance in the Barclays Center before returning home next week.