The Sixers used a dominant first half to outlast the Miami Heat on Thursday, winning 124-117 after a third-quarter meltdown turned this into a close finish. Tyrese Maxey led the Sixers with 28 points, aided by 26 from Joel Embiid and an important 19 for VJ Edgecombe, who made several key shots down the stretch.
Here’s what I saw.
What a first half!
I’m not sure the Sixers have played a better half against a good team all year than they played against the Heat on Thursday night. Aside from some bad fouls on defense, they played connected, allowed all their stars to shine, and got contributions from all over the roster. A great thing to see in one of the biggest games they’ve had lately.
The leading man was Tyrese Maxey in the opening quarter, and he needed just four threes against the Heat to surpass Allen Iverson for Philadelphia’s all-time record in made threes. He hit five in the first quarter alone, emphatically taking the lead and beginning his quest to put the record away for a long time. After he pulled that off, the Sixers ran a montage of Maxey threes throughout his career that really drove home what a journey it has been these last six seasons. Shooting in an empty gym during that first COVID-impacted season, Maxey went from a bench sparkplug to an All-Star starter in front of our eyes, going from a questionable shooter to one of the league’s best.
As if to drive it home, he made threes of all types against Miami, from standstill jumpers to the pull-up threes that have turned him into a household name. But give him credit for something beyond shooting — on a night where he could have made it about himself, Maxey took a backseat to his guys during his second-quarter minutes. The record out of the way and the mission of a win on his mind, there was plenty of space for everybody else to get rolling.
Even after that opening quarter howitzer from Maxey, it was Embiid leading the Sixers in points at halftime, and he made it his mission to take it at Bam Adebayo from the first possession onward. His first bucket was a sledgehammer to Adebayo’s chest, Embiid borderline throwing him out of the way to get deep and score at the rim. There was a lot of power basketball from Embiid in the opening 24 minutes, with the Sixers constantly looking to get him the ball against the smaller man on the block. Adebayo was forced to pick up an off-ball foul before an entry pass was even attempted on one second-quarter possession, with Embiid throwing his weight around, forcing the officials to make a call.
With Maxey (successfully) gunning for the three-point record and Embiid cooking early, opportunities for VJ Edgecombe were few and far between in the halfcourt in the first quarter. So it was up to the rookie to get himself going on the break, sprinting past Miami in transition for early offense makes. That’s not a big problem for a guy with his speed and explosiveness, and Edgecombe gave the Heat major problems on the run. He had several highlight moments against the Heat in the first half, including a tough and-one finish through a sliding Adebayo and a lob jam thrown up by Maxey, who watched his buddy slide behind Miami and had no doubt where the ball needed to go next:
Edgecombe has burst through the rookie wall after getting some time to relax during the All-Star break, and perhaps we could all stand to use the restorative power of the Bahamas. The thing that has been so remarkable about Edgecombe is how diverse his impact on the game can be. On one possession, he’s blocking a baseline jumper for Tyler Herro after tracking him through multiple screens. Two plays later, he might be hitting a ridiculous stepback three in the corner as the shot clock expires. Nobody would have come into this year thinking a twisting fadeaway from the coffin corner was in Edgecombe’s bag.
The glimpses at their ceiling that this team has to offer are pretty special. And then halftime hit…
The freaking third quarter, again
To give the Sixers a little bit of a break, there was a lot of fluky Miami Heat nonsense happening in Thursday’s third quarter. Bam Adebayo is a 33 percent shooter from three this season and was basically a non-entity from deep until the last couple of years. So when he hits three threes in a single quarter, and does it with a hand in his face, I’m not sure there’s much else you can do aside from shrugging.
If we’re trying to spotlight where the Sixers went wrong and how Miami got back in it, for me, it came down to offense. After they dominated largely by playing through their stars in the halfcourt during the first half, there was a bit more “equal opportunity basketball” in the third quarter, with more touches for guys like Kelly Oubre and Dominick Barlow. It didn’t help that the Heat spent a lot more time in their zone, which has flummoxed the Sixers (and most other teams) for the bulk of Erik Spoelstra’s tenure in Miami. In possessions without Joel Embiid on the floor, the Sixers had no plan or purpose aside from kicking the ball back and forth on the perimeter, with Barlow and Bona unequipped to play quarterback from the free-throw line.
Their stars also needed to take advantage of the good opportunities they created, of course. Embiid and Maxey missed some cheapies, including a 10-foot jumper for Embiid and a baseline miss for his running mate. Embiid getting deep position is almost always good for the Sixers, but if it leads to a miss, they’re likely to be running shorthanded on the break, and Miami punished them in early offense for most of the third quarter. Tyler Herro, who was inserted into the starting lineup after opening the game on the bench, got himself going in a big way in the third quarter. Philadelphia’s structure more or less fell apart, and the Heat took advantage of every sloppy possession and live-ball turnover.
The same three guys who killed Miami in the first half each had their woes. VJ Edgecombe was relatively uninvolved until the fourth, missing threes badly on his rare opportunities. Maxey and Embiid’s efficiency fell through the floor for different reasons, with Maxey constantly battling through doubles and traps while Embiid tried and often failed to punish reaching Heat players with foul baiting. The big man was the worst of the bunch, though. Embiid just didn’t have anything going in the final 24 minutes, and during a key Sixers push in the middle of the fourth, he watched from the bench as Adem Bona helped Philly stabilize things heading into the stretch run.
It was largely up to the young guard combo to bring this one home. Maxey kept them alive late in the third, using a few switches to line up Tyler Herro and probe Miami inside the arc, scoring at the basket with jumpers hard to come by. But it was the rookie who seized control of the game, with Edgecombe knocking down killer midrange jumper after killer midrange jumper to keep the Sixers out in front in the fourth quarter. Early clock, late clock, did not seem to matter; if he was taking a two-point jumper, it was going down. And then they got one last cameo from Embiid, who checked in to hit the game-clinching three with 28 seconds left, a catch-and-shoot splashdown from the corner that drew the night’s loudest cheer.
But this game was won largely through their play in the first half, put it that way. A good win, with plenty to review. The coach’s dream!
Other notes
— Had to make sure I mentioned Kelly Oubre in a section of his own, and he’s already getting shortchanged with this little space, because he hit some absolutely MASSIVE shots to see this one out. They do not win this game without him. 21 points and every last one felt meaningful.
—He got off to a rough start in this one, torched on defense a time or two, but I thought this game was a good showcase for what Trendon Watford can do for this team in the right role. Watford did a good job as an offensive rebounder and connective passer next to Joel Embiid, with Philadelphia executing some beautiful offense in the second quarter as a result.
But please, never again as the third guy next to Jabari Walker and Adem Bona. That trio has to be posting the worst three-man splits in basketball history.
