Philadelphia 76ers: Grades from 117-116 loss to Miami Heat

After a disappointing start on a four-game road trip with a flat performance against Orlando, the Philadelphia 76ers came right back to take on Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat and played more inspired, although the result was exactly the same.

This was a crazy contest and, like the previous loss in Orlando, a gut-puncher for the Philadelphia 76ers.

Jimmy Butler made a foul shot with 2.3 seconds left in overtime after getting grazed on a jumper by Al Horford (who had just been inserted into the game), who was guarding him on a switch, to give the Miami Heat a 117-116 victory over the Sixers on Saturday at American Airlines Arena.

Tobias Harris missed a corner jump shot at the overtime buzzer.

The Sixers lose their second straight, both by one point and with them having a shot to win it at the end, and fall to 23-12 on the season — good for fifth place in the Eastern Conference. Combined with Boston losing to Toronto on Saturday, the Heat are now in second place with a 24-8 record.

Here is the crazy part, basically the last 10 seconds of the fourth period:

With 18 seconds in regulation, Harris was cruising in for a dunk to seemingly sew up the win and give the Sixers a four-point lead. However, the rest of the fourth quarter went way bad for the 76ers … until the final second.

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After two Embiid turnovers, the Heat held a two-point lead with a second left as Josh Richardson was fouled by Goran Dragic. He missed the first three throw, intentionally missed the second and (after a long look by the NBA replay center) ruled Ben Simmons scored on the offensive rebound of the Richardson miss to tie the game.

Trey Burke gave the Sixers a boost early in the fourth quarter, scoring eight points in his first seven minutes of playing time. When Simmons came in with eight minutes to go, Burke stayed in moved to shooting guard (as Simmons can not play that position because, you know) and the Sixers were able to tie the score at 96-96 with four minutes to go on a Burke offensive rebound.

Miami had as much as a 10-point lead in the third quarter but only were up by six (85-79) entering the final period.

The Heat quickly erased the Sixers’ five-point lead in the third period. Butler got hot after a poor first half and scored 11 points in the quarter. On the other end, the 76ers had one of their patented offensive lulls where open shots are constantly bricked, sprinkled with some unforced turnovers.

In the second quarter, Miami went to the zone defense that had worked so well in their previous meeting. The Heat only went to it for a few minutes before changing back to man as the Sixers were a bit more ready for it. Miami erased an eight-point Sixers lead to go ahead, 50-49, but the Sixers finished strong, going on a 10-4 run to close the period and take a 59-54 lead into halftime.

A key stat was that the Sixers bench had 14 points at halftime, after scoring 14 in the entire Magic game. It ended up being a strong game for the subs as Burke and James Ennis (11 points) scored in double digits and Mike Scott (despite shooting 1-for-5) led the team with a +15.

The Heat started the game with an eight-point lead but, following a time out (in which, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia, Al Horford gave the team a talking to) the Sixers went on 15-2 run and held a 33-28 lead after the first period. The 76ers have led after the first quarter in all three meeting with Miami.

A-. 36 mins | 35 pts | 11 reb | 2 ast | 0 stl | 1 blk | 3 TO |11-16 FG | 2-4 3PT| 11-12 FT | 5 PF | +11 |Embiid was a monster in this game. he scored from inside and outside (nailing a side-stepping three-pointer late in the fourth that could have been the dagger). However, he had two real bad turnovers late in the fourth, including one where he was tripled-teamed with 10 second to go and the Sixers up by two, hoping to get fouled. Instead, Jimmy Butler knocked the ball away and Tyler Herro hit a three-pointer. He also let the Bam Adebayo score a key basket late in overtime. It is the little things like that are the difference between winning and losing.. Center. Philadelphia 76ers. JOEL EMBIID

B-. 43 mins | 15 pts | 7 reb | 11 ast | 3 stl | 1 blk | 1 TO | 6-12 FG | 0-0 3PT| 3-6 FT | 4 PF | -12 |Simmons opened the game missing a shot a foot from the basket and passing with a second to go for a 24-second violation. He got better but when the Heat went to a zone that rendered him basically useless except for a couple of alley-oop dunks. He did play well on defense, doing an excellent job particularly on Jimmy Butler in the first half. He only had one turnover in 43 minutes of play, which is excellent. Why he let Horford take the switch onto Butler so easily on Miami’s final play was strange, as it seemed like he had room to get off the screen to keep on him.. Point Guard. Philadelphia 76ers. BEN SIMMONS

A. 22 mins | 11 pts | 3 reb | 4 ast | 0 stl | 0 blk | 0 TO | 5-9 FG | 1-2 3PT| 0-0 FT | 1 PF | +13|Burke is the only player on the 15-man roster whose contract is not guaranteed for the season. That may change (the Sixers have to make a decision in early January) as Burke was the energy boost the Sixers needed on Saturday. As the only player on the roster who can create his own shot, Burke was a big help when Miami went zone in the fourth period. He made his first four shots and got the Sixers back in the game. Defense has always been his weakness but the guy was trying hard against the Heat’s array of sharpshooters. Coach Brett Brown rewarded his play by having him at two-guard when Simmons came back in for part of the fourth period and most of the overtime.. Guard. Philadelphia 76ers. TREY BURKE

B. 40 mins | 17 pts | 5 reb | 2 ast | 0 stl | 1 blk | 3 TO | 4-7 FG | 3-5 3PT| 3-5 FT | 4 PF | +10 |He had a solid game in his return to the site where he played his entire career until this season. He did have a killer turnover with 51 seconds left in overtime and the game tied as he flung a pass out of bounds, not really near anyone. He did get fouled with 0.9 seconds left in regulation to help send the game into overtime so it was a good sign he did not shy away from the ball in crunch time. He did not have a steal even though he was guarding mostly catch-and-shoot three-point gunners.. Guard. Philadelphia 76ers. JOSH RICHARDSON

Philadelphia 76ers. TOBIAS HARRIS. C. 36 mins | 12 pts | 8 reb | 0 ast | 0 stl | 0 blk | 0 TO | 4-15 FG | 0-4 3PT| 4-4 FT | 3 PF | -15 |You do not want to be too hard on the guy as he had a bad hip and was a game-time decision on whether he would even play. That being said, he did not have a good game. Harris shot 26.7% from the field (including 0-for-4 on three-pointers), did not have a single assist, steal or blocked shot and was a minus-15 in the game. We know he is a competitor and no one is kicking himself more for his missed dunk with 18 seconds left in regulation that would have put the Sixers up by four and pretty much sealed the game. He also missed a shot to win at the end on a corner jumper but he had to rush it with seconds remaining. Not one of his best nights.. Forward

The game was a nightmare for Al Horford, who was a -25 and committed the foul that ended up giving the Heat its victory margin.

Next. Embiid earns first Player of the Week. dark

The Sixers get a couple of days off before playing their final game of the year on Tuesday at Indiana. With another toughie after that at Houston, the 76ers could be looking at an 0-4 road trip if they do not start regaining the magic they had against Milwaukee.

GRADES: Miami Heat 117, Philadelphia 76ers 116

By Stuart London | Dec 29, 2019

After a disappointing start on a four-game road trip with a flat performance against Orlando, the Philadelphia 76ers came right back to take on Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat and played more inspired, although the result was exactly the same.