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.
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.