Philadelphia 76ers use big 4th quarter, Joel Embiid's return to win Game 3

Joel Embiid returned to action and led the Philadelphia 76ers to a pivotal Game three win over the Miami Heat.

Who was that masked man who scored 23 points and pulled down seven rebounds? After a month layoff, Joel Embiid donned the “Phantom” mask and led the Philadelphia 76ers to a 128-108 over the Miami Heat.

This Sixers win was much more than Joel Embiid; it was a total team win. The game three breakdown is more enjoyable than game two.

STARTERS — ADVANTAGE SIXERS

Philadelphia’s big three showed up with Joel Embiid (23 points, seven rebounds, three blocks, four assists and only three turnovers), Ben Simmons (19 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists, four steals and +24) and Dario Saric (21 points, seven rebounds, four assists and zero turnovers).

BENCH — ADVANTAGE SIXERS

This statistic will show up again, because it is the most telling statistic of the game: The Philadelphia 76ers’ bench was a +42, while Miami (which relies heavily on their bench) was a -68.

Marco Belinelli assisted with 20 points off the bench. Kudos to T.J. McConnell and Justin Anderson, who both provided a spark in their limited minutes.

COACHING — ADVANTAGE SIXERS

Brett Brown adjusted his defensive coverages on Dwyane Wade and used Justin Anderson, and both were effective. Philly trapped Wade on occasion coming off picks, which they should do more often. Brown used his time outs effectively to stop potential Miami runs and closed the game using Belinelli instead of Redick while the game was in doubt, which was a good move.

The biggest positive adjustment was having Joel Embiid on the court for 30 minutes. Just having Embiid on the court affected how Miami played both offensively and defensively.

One minor issue in the first half: whoever was guarding Miami’s Justise Winslow in the first half should have run him off the three-point line.

STATISTICS — ADVANTAGE SIXERS

This statistic should be repeated: the Philly bench was a +42 and the Miami bench was a -68. Ben Simmons was a +24 while on court. Philadelphia had 28 assists to only 10 turnovers and out rebounded Miami 50-45.

INTANGIBLES — ADVANTAGE SIXERS

Having Embiid back in the lineup energized Philadelphia. It looks like Hassan Whiteside has no interest playing for Miami. Did anyone catch Whiteside not even paying attention to coach Erik Spoelstra when Spoelstra was trying to give him last-minute instructions before checking into the game?

Embiid mentioned in the post-game interview that it didn’t matter if Miami’s Justise Winslow destroyed his mask because he has 50 such masks.

REF REPORT

A very difficult game to call because of the physicality. I cannot figure out how Philadelphia got called for 30 fouls to only 26 for Miami considering how Miami tried to play Philadelphia so physical and grabbed all evening.

The worst non-call of the night was when Dwyane Wade purposely grabbed Justin Anderson’s arm and tried to pull his arm from his socket. Watch Wade’s reaction after that play. Wade was passive because he knew what he did was dirty and was also on camera.

As per usual, the refs on court did not see and even after review both players received technical fouls which was a travesty of justice.Who reviews and makes those calls? I believe it was the guy in the replay booth wearing the D. Wade t-shirt.

Next: Expiring contracts pose problems for Sixers

NEXT GAME: Saturday at Miami

Joel Embiid’s return sparks Sixers win in Game 3

By Ken Jaskulski | Apr 20, 2018