On March 6, Beijing time, the Philadelphia 76ers played back-to-back against the Heat, and the second place in the East challenged the first place in the East. Harden was suspended, with Embiid partnering Kokmaz, Harris, Sable and Maxi making it to the start. Without Harden, the 76ers offense was clearly affected, scoring just 14 points in the first quarter.
In the opening, Embiid shot into the middle distance on his first shot, Dunroe and Butler each hit three-pointers, and Maxi arced a three-pointer in color. Duncan Robinson then scored another three-pointer through cover, and the Heat took an 11-5 start to take a lead into the first timeout.
After the timeout, Butler entered the box to complete a two-handed dunk, Embiid made two fouls, Harris hit a quick stop from mid-range, Butler assisted Adebayor to make a layup, and then Butler pulled out a mid-range shot to score again. After the emperor flew to the basket, the game once again entered a timeout.
In the final stages of the first quarter, Embiid made consecutive mistakes, the Heat played 5-0 to extend the advantage to double digits, and Danny Green's bottom corner three-pointer was Philadelphia to stop bleeding. In the first quarter, the Heat led by eight points 22-14.
Throughout the first quarter, the 76ers scored only 14 points, and in the first 4 games hardened, the 76ers averaged 32.75 points per game in the first quarter! The lack of a top two-legged defender like Harden has greatly reduced Philadelphia's offensive end. Butler scored 10 points and 3 boards on 3-of-4 in the quarter, Embiid contributed 6 points and 10 boards on 2-of-9 shooting, and Philadelphia made just 5-of-23 shots in the quarter.