The 76ers fought against the Heat
The Philadelphia 76ers lost the first game of the series, and with Embiid sidelined, the result was justified. Truth be told, there is little hope that James Harden will be able to stand up and carry the team on his own, as he did during the Houston Rockets. Injuries and age have brought Harden's peak to an end, and the Philadelphia 76ers, who want to beat the Heat, the first in the East, can only hope for Embiid's early return. And, of course, Rivers is no longer so stubborn.
Rivers is a good coach, and this goodness does not refer to the tactical level, but to the popularity. In the first game of the series, Jordan Jr. started the game, and the result was unbearable, but Rivers did not complain, but insisted that Jordan Jr. continue to start the game. Truth be told, even if the 76ers don't use Jordan Jr., they really don't have any trustworthy interior players.
At one point, the Heat led by 14 points
Compared to the last game, After Jordan Jr. came up, he was more proactive, wanting to give back to Rivers with a good performance, 4 points and 2 rebounds on 2-of-2 shooting, Harris is still the team's top scorer, only 6 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist on 3-of-8 shooting, Maxie got 5 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist, while James Harden only shot 1-of-4, with 4 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, and 2 turnovers. The 76ers scored just 24 points in a single quarter, the Heat blasted down 31 points, and Butler scored 6 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal. However, in the second quarter, Harden ushered in an outbreak.
The Heat once again demonstrated the strength of the whole nation, with as many as 7 points scored in the first quarter. After returning from the second quarter, the Heat's offensive feel is still hot, the best sixth man on the bench, Hiro, 11 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist on 3-of-4 shooting, Oladipo also has 5 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist, the Heat bench began to show strength, and the point difference once came to 14 points. There is no way, the 76ers' bench scores the third-to-last in the league, and Rivers can rely on the starters.
Harden threw a shot to score, Maxi scored four consecutive points on a layup, Andion's three-pointer finally opened, and the 76ers played a 9-0 small climax that successfully narrowed the point gap to five points. However, Hiro immediately hit three points, followed by two free throws, and scored 5 consecutive points to stabilize the situation. Maxi scored a layup, the Heat scored three straight points, Harden made a foul on three points, all three free throws, and at the end of the half, the Heat led the 76ers by eight points at 60-52.
The best sixth man to threaten
Compared with the previous game, Harden's performance in this game is definitely a dream return, although the first quarter only shot 1 of 4, but the second quarter bombed 12 points, at the end of the half, 10 shots 5, got 16 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists, very good. Maxi also had 11 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist and 1 steal, Jordan Jr. shot 3 of 3, it was 6 points and 4 rebounds, not living up to Rivers' trust, Harris 6 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists, but only shot 3 of 11 from the field, Danny Green had 3 points and 1 rebound, and Cockmatz had 5 points and 1 rebound.
It is worth mentioning that the 76ers only had 3 turnovers in the first half, all from James Harden, and the rest of the players did not make a single mistake, it can be seen that they have come up with the determination to play, unfortunately, at the end of the half, they are still 8 points behind the Heat. The Heat were able to maintain the lead thanks to the best sixth man, Giro, who stepped forward in the second quarter and also had 16 points, 5 rebounds and 1 assist in the half, and was shooting 5-of-7 from the field. Adebayo had 11 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists, Butler had 8 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists, and Oladipo also had 7 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist.
The Heat hit eight three-pointers in the first half, delivered 13 assists and made just five turnovers. As for the Philadelphia 76ers, although there were only 3 turnovers, the team only had 8 assists, and in terms of three-pointers, the shooting rate of 4 of 14 shots was indeed unsatisfactory.