PLAYER GRADES: Philadelphia 76ers 106, Miami Heat 102
The Philadelphia 76ers won against the Miami Heat in their first game after the All-Star Break despite Joel Embiid sitting out with an injury.
The Philadelphia 76ers game against the Miami Heat started as the Boban Marjanovic show, and after nerve-wracking second and third quarters, Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, and J.J. Redick started to hit their shots in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
Both teams hit less than 27 percent of their threes, and the Sixers outrebounded their opponents 51-40. Philly pounded the ball inside for a while once it became evident that their threes would not fall as much as they wanted. Boban started that trend really early, and then Simmons, Tobias Harris, and Jimmy Butler started slashing more often and things began to open up.
The Sixers played well as a team on Thursday night, but they clearly missed having their go-to guy Joel Embiid, but Marjanovic rendered Hassan Whiteside (four points, five boards, three fouls, -11 plus/minus in 20 minutes) useless in typical Embiid fashion, just without the trash talk. Simmons, Butler, and Harris tried to step up, and they did at the right moments, especially with Harris’ takeover in the last quarter.
A-. <strong>27 mins | 19 pts | 12 reb | 2 ast | 1 blk | 5 TO | 6-7 FG | 0-0 3PT | 7-10 FT | 2 PF | +10</strong><p>Boban Marjanovic had an ideal start to the game for the Philadelphia 76ers, dropping seven points in the first half of the first quarter. His massive frame helped him alter shots against Miami’s slashers, particularly <a href=. C. Philadelphia 76ers. BOBAN MARJANOVIC
B+. <strong>38 mins | 21 pts | 7 reb | 4 ast | 1 blk | 1 stl | 2 TO | 9-19 FG | 0-0 3PT | 3-7 FT | 1 PF | -3</strong><p>Ben Simmons had a decent game based on his standards, as he tried to step up in Embiid’s absence. He drove into the paint well, posted up a bunch, and even blocked a Josh Richardson three-point attempt. He put away a fast break layup to help ice the game for the Sixers in the fourth quarter, but he did not do much in the way of facilitating since Brown had him in the paint more often than usual and because Harris and Butler did some more ball handling.</p>. PG. Philadelphia 76ers. BEN SIMMONS
B. <strong>35 mins | 18 pts | 6 reb | 6 ast | 1 stl | 0 blk | 3 TO | 5-14 FG | 0-2 3PT | 8-8 FT | 1 PF | +12</strong><p>Butler did not have his best scoring night, which would have helped in Joel Embiid’s absence, but the Sixers won anyway and he contributed in other ways. He contributed pretty quietly, except for when he crucially ended the Heat’s 14-2 run in the second quarter, but he had one of his most well-rounded stat lines as a Sixer.</p>. SF. Philadelphia 76ers. JIMMY BUTLER
B+. <strong>35 mins | 23 pts | 11 reb | 1 ast | 0 stl | 1 blk | 1 TO | 8-15 FG | 3-7 3PT | 4-6 FT | 2 PF | +19</strong><p>Tobias Harris started a little quietly, but he came through in the clutch. He had seven straight points early in the fourth and later hit a three and finished with 10 points in the quarter. He ran a point on occasion and had more chances to take it himself to the rack. Additionally, he hit 42.9 percent of his threes while the rest of the team hit just 26.9 percent of their attempts from long range.</p>. PF. Philadelphia 76ers. TOBIAS HARRIS
Philadelphia 76ers. T.J. MCCONNELL. B-. <strong>11 mins | 6 pts | 2 reb | 5 ast | 3 stl | 0 blk | 0 TO | 3-4 FG | 0-0 3PT | 0-0 FT | 1 PF | +8</strong><p>T.J. received some late fourth quarter minutes and took full advantage of the opportunity, amassing over two points, rebounds, assists, and steals in the final frame. He took what the defense gave him all night, not forcing up any unnecessary shots and not making any preventable mistakes. It was a classic McConnell performance, and it helped give the Sixers the extra edge to top the Heat.</p>. PG
The Philadelphia 76ers almost returned to peak 2017/18 form as they squandered the lead they built up in the first quarter. Miami had their 14-2 run as the Sixers did not hit a field goal for four and a half minutes.
Without Embiid, Brown gave backup center minutes back to Jonah Bolden, who struggled with overcommitting on defense and just not doing much to make his mark on the game. The Sixers as a whole struggled defensively at times because their hands did not stay as active as they should have been, and on quite a few plays, the effort was noticeably not there.
Although missing one of the favorites for Defensive Player of the Year hurts a lot, the team’s perimeter defenders looked like they didn’t care on some plays. On the offensive end, all the starters scored their fair share of points, but J.J. Redick’s 33.3 percent shooting and 35.7 field goal percentage kept the game close.
The Heat sit just outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture, so they came in motivated to beat one of the East’s best teams, so it was always going to be a tough game, especially without Embiid. Yet despite having many reasons to lose the game, the Sixers found a way to win an ugly one against a talented team, which signifies a playoff contender.
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The Philadelphia 76ers take on the Portland Trail Blazers in a Saturday matinee at 1 PM at the Wells Fargo Center.