GRADES: Philadelphia 76ers 125, Miami Heat 108
By Sam Coltrane
The Philadelphia 76ers pulled out a second straight victory over the injury-riddled Miami Heat.
The Philadelphia 76ers, with several players returning from protocols, swept the home series against the still shorthanded Miami Heat.
The game was Philadelphia’s from nearly beginning to end as they returned Matisse Thybulle, Shake Milton, and Tobias Harris. Miami was missing starters Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler along with several others including Maurice Harkless, Avery Bradley, Meyers Leonard, and Kendrick Nunn.
The first quarter was back and forth as a Max Strus tip shot pushed the score to 29-24. From there, Philadelphia took over. Shake Milton scored seven points and pitched in two assists over the final 2:45 of the quarter as Philadelphia went on a 14-1 run to close the quarter leading 38-30.
The offensive barrage continued for Philadelphia in the second quarter as they poured in 35 points. Another run led by Milton, a 13-2 run, saw him pour in 10 points in just under two minutes.
By halftime, Philadelphia led 73-58.
Like several Philadelphia games this year, and many games across the NBA, the game got out of hand and consisted of rather mundane competitiveness.
Despite that, Philadelphia got strong performances from those who saw more than pure garbage time including Tyrese Maxey scoring 15 points on 10 shots and Dakota Mathias, after his big-time shot the other night, got to celebrate his effort by ringing the bell pregame.
The teams more or less traded baskets with subtle runs until the time petered out as Philadelphia took the game 125-108.
A-. <strong>25 mins | 12 pts | 6 reb | 3 ast | 1 stl | 0 blk | 1 TO | 4-8 FG | 4-7 3PT| 0-0 FT | 1 PF | +10 |</strong><p>Grades are not outputs of a player’s overall performance, but their performance relative to their expectation. Evaluating Green on a Joel Embiid scale would be an exercise in futility. Evaluating Green on his own scale, he played an ideal game. He was active, shot well while spacing the floor, and contributed in other areas. A strong Green performance and the type Philadelphia hopes becomes consistent.</p>. SF. Philadelphia 76ers. DANNY GREEN
A-. <strong>34 mins | 10 pts | 10 reb | 12 ast | 3 stl | 0 blk | 5 TO | 4-8 FG | 0-1 3PT| 2-2 FT | 4 PF | +10 |</strong><p>Simmons survived the Harden trading block and reports are the trade rumors aren’t going to result in drama. They shouldn’t. Everyone understands superstars, it’s a business, etc. Simmons played a game that is both great and disappointing. He wasn’t aggressive as he finished with ten points. And yet, Simmons got his 30th triple double and even attempted a three-pointer. Very few players make fans fickle, tonight should be no different.</p>. PG. Philadelphia 76ers. BEN SIMMONS
SF. Philadelphia 76ers. MATISSE THYBULLE. B. <strong>17 mins | 8 pts | 1 reb | 0 ast | 4 stl | 1 blk | 2 TO | 2-7 FG | 2-6 3PT| 2-4 FT | 3 PF | +10 |</strong><p>Thybulle proved again just how disruptive he can be on the defensive end. A less than stellar offensive performance made way for an active, four steal performance. If he can continue to hone his defense, Philadelphia ought to be able to cause other guard’s nightmares when they look to face him and Simmons.</p>
PG. Philadelphia 76ers. SHAKE MILTON. A+. <strong>27 mins | 31 pts | 2 reb | 7 ast | 2 stl | 1 blk | 1 TO | 11-15 FG | 3-4 3PT| 6-6 FT | 2 PF | +24 |</strong><p>Milton had another phenomenal output as he came back to the lineup after a three game absence. His on-ball creation is perhaps the most exhilarating aspect of what is becoming an intriguing young guard group in Philadelphia. I could speak more into the shot making off the dribble, shooting 3-4 from three, or his control of flow, but the numbers speak to themselves. A truly gorgeous performance.</p>
B+. <strong>19 mins | 12 pts | 0 reb | 0 ast | 0 stl | 1 blk | 0 TO | 4-8 FG | 4-8 3PT| 0-0 FT | 1 PF | +16 |</strong><p>Joe got another chance at extended minutes as Philadelphia missed Seth Curry. Joe did not disappoint. He got a couple more minutes than Thybulle and shot the most of them. Entering the draft, he was pegged as nothing more than a pure shooter. Those analysts were right and he’s proving it might not matter. Teams can’t have enough shooting. Philadelphia of all teams can’t have enough shooting. If Joe shoots like he did over the last two games, Doc Rivers will likely let him keep shooting.</p>. SG. Philadelphia 76ers. ISAIAH JOE
Miami will surely be looking to get their starters back as they face off against Detroit at home on Saturday and Philadelphia will aim to join the Los Angeles Lakers as the only 10-win teams in the league on Saturday as they head to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies.
Next. 5 takeaways from Sixers' shorthanded games. dark