GRADES: Miami Heat 108, Philadelphia 76ers 104
By Sam Coltrane
The Philadelphia 76ers drop their first home game of the year as a late fourth quarter rally comes up just short.
The Philadelphia 76ers began the game hot behind seven early points from Tobias Harris and an aggressive Ben Simmons. Philadelphia took a commanding 10-point lead into the second quarter 19-29.
The second quarter, though, was all Miami. Kendrick Nunn led the way as he poured in 11 of his team-high 26 points. Miami would go on to produce 37 points in the second and conclude the half on a 27-7 run, giving them a 56-48 halftime lead.
The third quarter was a combination of small runs with Philadelphia cutting down the Miami lead and Miami working to extend it back. In all, both teams scored 26 points and Miami maintained their eight point lead 82-72.
The fourth quarter was much of the same to start the quarter as Miami maintained a 10-point lead after a Jimmy Butler mid-range jumper with 3:09 to play. From there, Philadelphia tightened their defense and began making open shots that hadn’t fallen early in the game.
A Josh Richardson three-pointer, two Joel Embiid buckets, followed by a Harris three-pointer closed the game to 106-104 with 25 seconds to play. After two Nunn missed free throws, Al Horford had an attempt to take the lead cling off the iron before Bam Adebayo iced the game with his final two free throws.
C. Philadelphia 76ers. JOEL EMBIID. B+. It wasn’t a perfect game for Embiid, but such is the criticism when a 22-point, 19-rebound game doesn’t earn an A. Embiid was dominant down low, wasn’t entirely to blame for the successful night Adebayo produced, and his -11 was more an indication of poor bench performances than his own. That said, a potential perennial MVP candidate receives the lion’s share of blame when the game doesn’t result in a W and he doesn’t deliver a signature performance.
B+. Simmons started out aggressively and his conventional counting numbers were strong. He once again displayed why he should be in good position to earn an all-defensive team nod. He just didn’t consistently maintain his downhill play as Miami implored a zone for much of the game. Until Simmons can produce from the top of the zone, he may be relegated to crashing boards with Embiid occupying the free-throw area. It will certainly be interesting to see how Brett Brown employs Simmons against the zone moving forward.. PG. Philadelphia 76ers. BEN SIMMONS
Richardson played a fine game. He went only 3-10 from the three-point line, but a make here and there would have turned a fine night into a very solid one. He produced numbers across the board and played sound defense. A make or two more (or some missed shot clock buzzer beaters by Miami) and Philadelphia probably takes this win. Simply put, those shots have to fall against good teams.. SG. Philadelphia 76ers. JOSH RICHARDSON. B-
B. Horford had poor counting numbers and wasn’t particularly noticeable throughout the game. His performance his hard to grade as his conventional statistics show a lackluster game while he led the team with a +21 +/-. There are plenty of ways to beat a zone and Horford’s versatility could be just the answer to counter a relatively stifling look from Miami down the road.. PF. Philadelphia 76ers. AL HORFORD
F. I couldn’t solely pick on <a rel=. . Philadelphia 76ers. THE BENCH
Next. Sixers should weigh the benefits of Holiday. dark
The Sixers will host the Luka Doncic-less Dallas Mavericks on Friday night at 8 PM E.T.