“Justice” Winslow was served
Justise Winslow entered game three coming in off the bench. By the end of the first quarter, he scored 10 points and appeared to have the makings of an incredible night. He was up to 19 points in the second quarter. Running that hot, he had plenty of reason to feel good about his performance. But he decided to make a statement. He wanted to play bully like his teammates. So when Joel Embiid‘s protective face mask ended up on the basketball court, he stepped on it. Then he picked it up and tried to disfigure it as he walked off the court. Justise Winslow didn’t need to step on Joel Embiid’s mask and then try to tear it apart. He did anyways.
.@IAmJustise casually stomping on @JoelEmbiid’s mask. #PettyWarz pic.twitter.com/LY5huoX6Vu
— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) April 20, 2018
That was in the second quarter. So how did Justise Winslow do in the second half of the basketball game?
Justice for Justise
The 19 points Justise Winslow scored in the first half was it. He didn’t score in the second half. He ended the game at -27. In fact, after scoring 64 points in the first half, the Miami Heat scored just 44 points in the final two quarters. And in the final quarter, the Heat collapsed and struggled to score 14 points. The Miami Heat tried to get into the heads of the Philadelphia 76ers players. Instead, they tapped the rage of a team trolled for years. The bullying switched pretty quickly. It was the Heat, and not the 76ers, which wilted in the final minutes of a very important game three.
Next: Philadelphia 76ers unsung hero Dario Saric
In the end, the Philadelphia 76ers are now 2-1. Despite the antics of the Miami Heat, it’s the calm collected response of the Philadelphia 76ers which has turned the tide in their favor. Much like any bully, the Heat are quick to throw the first punch. But when the Philadelphia 76ers put the scrappy likes of Joel Embiid, Justin Anderson, and T.J. McConnell into the contest to match the Heat’s feisty passion, the game settled in quickly for the 76ers favor. Perhaps the Heat will have a new strategy in game four. But they have learned that picking a fight with a pissed-off Sixers team is not a winning strategy.