Who amongst us hasn’t started out sluggish early on a Sunday?
The Sixers lost to the Miami Heat 127-117 Sunday afternoon.
Tyrese Maxey led the Sixers in scoring, putting up 27 points on 10-of-27 shooting.
He played the whole game tugging at his shoulder, and went back to the locker room holding it once the game was out of hand.
Paul George played only 20 minutes, none in the fourth quarter, going for 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting along with five assists and two rebounds.
Jared McCain played his most minutes of the season and benefitted from it, scoring 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting with a board and an assist in 25:43. Trendon Watford came off the bench to put up 19 points and nine rebounds on 7-of-12 shooting. Norman Powell led all scorers with 32.
VJ Edgecombe was ruled out pregame with calf tightness. He joined Joel Embiid, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Adem Bona on the injury report. Miami was without Tyler Herro, Andrew Wiggins and Nikola Jovic.
First Quarter
- It was not a pretty start for the offense as they came out with a ton of slow and prodding isolations with the ball only moving between Maxey and George. It shouldn’t come as a surprise then that Maxey was the only Sixer to score a field goal for the first five minutes of the game. He did something to his shoulder though early. He was trying to shake comfort into it during. He made it through the entire game on this but went back to the locker room holding it in garbage time.
- Miami’s attack was slightly more balanced, though Powell in particular was a struggle for the Sixers to contain early. He made four of his first five shots of the night, half of those coming from behind the arc. On the other end the Sixers were giving the ball away on some of their isolations — four turnovers helped Miami get out to a 9-0 start in fast break points.
- The Heat were also beating up the Sixers in an area they always have: offensive rebounding. Kel’el Ware was responsible for nearly all of it. He grabbed six of their seven offensive rebounds in the quarter, as they ended leading the Sixers by 10.
Second Quarter
- If there was one positive from the start of the quarter, George seemed to be settling in a bit. He was able to create a couple baskets running pick-and-rolls with Andre Drummond. With the Heat walking into open jumpers on the other end though, it was hard to keep up.
- The Sixers eventually put a power forward out there between those two. For most of the time it was Watford. It allowed them to not get crushed to death by size. They put together a 16-0 run to briefly tie the game up. It also helped that they finally got some threes to go down after starting 3-of-12 in that department.
- It’s funny how momentum swings can come out of thin air. The Sixers had a completely broken play, the ball trickling towards the sideline around half court with the shot clock almost expired. Maxey picked it up and was somehow able to chuck it up at the basket in time and got it to fall. Justin Edwards went on to pick off a pass as the Heat tried to push to ball up, finding Maxey for another three in transition. McCain, who had perhaps had his best stretch of the year, knocked down one of his own to follow.
- They couldn’t quite close the half as strong as they wanted though. A pair of really silly fouls sent Powell to the line for three free throws twice in the last minute. They were lucky he went 4-of-6 in those attempts, but they made the difference as the Heat took a four-point lead into the break.
Third Quarter
- It looked like Nick Nurse wanted to save what was left of George’s minutes for a potential crunch time. George has pretty much just started quarters so far, but was not out there to start the second half. Those plans might have changed though as he checked in about three minutes into the third as the Heat started it on a 9-0 run. Somehow Quentin Grimes committed the same mistake they kept repeating— giving Powell another set of three free throws.
- It took the Sixers nearly five minutes to get their first field goal of the half, but for once they were actually able to get some decent looks when the Heat went to a zone. George threw a nice skip pass to McCain for a three, and Maxey was able to spring free on an open one in transition as he beat the defense down the floor.
- Drummond was almost singlehandedly making the rebound battle even. He had grabbed 19 rebounds through three quarters. It was also a much-needed stretch for Watford, who enjoyed having an anchor there while he could freelance in the paint. He was much more in control on his drives, putting up 14 points through three.
- Even when they put together better thirds, they still seem to give up quick runs that are so debilitating. After pulling within three, they once again couldn’t keep Miami from getting what they wanted in the paint. The Sixers were able to get a corner three from Drummond, pulling them to within six as the quarter closed.
Fourth Quarter
- As the game went on it was clearly McCain’s best of the season so far, both from a how he looked perspective, as well as just the results of his production. He knocked down another three as he started the quarter on the floor, quickly passing his season total for minutes. Grimes seemed to be going every other quarter, getting to the basket a couple times in a flurry after going scoreless in the third, including a very difficult up-and-under around Ware.
- All afternoon the Heat were able to keep the Sixers at arms’ length every time they were threatening. They ripped off an 11-2 run once the lead was cut to two. Again, they were doing so with their advantages inside. The Heat ended up with 72 points in the paint on the day.
- It appeared all of George’s minutes were actually used up before crunch time as he didn’t play at all in the fourth. By the time he could have checked in with enough time stay under 25 minutes, the Sixers were teetering on the edge of still being in it. Once the Heat got their lead back up to double digits though it was over.
