Heat vs. 76ers
The NBA regular season is over, and the play-offs are in full swing. The first round of the Eastern Conference play-offs ushered in the pinnacle matchup between Miami and Philadelphia. The Heat went to the road and started a fierce battle with the 76ers, who have won eight consecutive games. Richardson, Rozier, Covington and Melton all missed the game due to injury. Philadelphia's starting five are Joel Embiid, Maxey, Oubre, Tobias, Harris and Kyle Lowry, while Jimmy Butler starts with Bam Adebayo, Martin, Herro and Jovic. Butler and Lowry played against their old owners respectively, making this game even more interesting. The winner of both sides will qualify for the playoffs as 7th in the East, while the loser will qualify for the second play-in tournament.
Embiid 23+15, Batum 6 3-pointers, Philadelphia reversed the Heat to advance!Butler 19+5 steals!
Full game review
At the beginning of the first quarter, Harris scored a jumper at the whistle, the two teams hit iron from the outside in a row, Maxey scored a layup after a steal, Jovic scored on the board, Embiid scored 5 points with free throws, and Adebayo was replaced by Lefu with 2 fouls. Herro hit a jumper, Lowry answered a three-pointer and Philadelphia went on a 12-4 run. Butler made 2 free throws, Embiid made 1 free throw, and Butler completed a dunk after a steal. Herro and Maxey battled each other from mid-to-long range, Butler dunked again after a steal, and Harris responded with a buzzer-beating jumper.
Butler dunked
Martin and Lowry each scored points under the basket, Highsmith made 1 of 2 free throws, and Herro threw it in. Philadelphia made consecutive mistakes, Harkes scored points from the outside, Butler hit 2 free throws, and the Heat played an 8-0 offensive run to overtake the score. Maxey scored on a throw, and Butler made 1 of 2 free throws. At the end of the first quarter, the Heat led 23-22, and Philadelphia had seven turnovers in a single quarter.
In the second quarter, Butler hit all 3 free throws, Harkes threw a shot, Philadelphia hit iron from the outside, Maxey scored 2 free throws, and Embiid singled Love to score in the restricted area. Harkes scored a layup, Love hit a three-pointer, Philadelphia still couldn't find the outside touch, Adebayo counterattacked and dunked, Butler assisted Highsmith for a layup after a steal, and the Heat led by 11 points. Harris made a layup, Oubre sent a big hat, and Reed scored on a layup to break the deadlock for the 76ers.
Love defends Embiid
Spoelstra called a timeout, Wright scored from the outside, Reed and Lowry scored in the low post, Harkes was blocked, and Adebayo hit a layup. Batum hit an outside shot, Wright, Herro, and Martin hit three-pointers one after another, and the Heat hit an 11-3 spurt to extend the margin to 14 points. Embiid hit two free throws to put Philadelphia up 39-51 at halftime.
In the first half, under the pressure of the Heat's joint defense, Philadelphia made consecutive mistakes, and the outside line was even more crazy. Harris had 6 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, Embiid had 10 points and 6 boards, Lowry had 7 points and 3 boards, Maxey had 9 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists, Batum had 3 points and Reed had 4 points. Butler had 10 points, 4 assists and 4 steals, Jovic had 2 points and 4 boards, Bam Adebayo had 4 points and 5 boards, Martin had 5 points and 4 boards, Herro had 9 points and 3 assists, Wright had 6 points, 2 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals, Love had 5 points, Highsmith had 3 points and 3 boards, and Harkes had 7 points.
Butler defends Maxey
In the rematch, the two teams hit consecutive outside irons, Oubre made a layup to break the deadlock, and Jovic responded with a three-pointer. Harris made a layup, Adebayo responded with a dunk, Embiid scored on a layup, Maxey hit a jumper, and Butler hit a long-range shot. Harris made 1 of 2 free throws, Adebayo blocked Oubre, Martin missed 2 free throws, Batum scored from the outside, Oubre assisted Hield to counterattack and score points after a steal, and the Heat asked for a timeout.
Hield scored from the outside, and Adebayo singled Embiid to score from mid-range. Batum and Butler exchanged long-range shots, and Maxey made a layup. Halkes made 1 of 2 free throws, Hield scored on a rebound, and Philadelphia trailed by only 2 points. Hield was fouled, Butler hit a free throw, Highsmith scored in the restricted area, Batum continued to attack from the outside, and Harkes made a steal and assisted Love to hit a three-pointer. Payne hit a long-range shot and Harkes also hit a three-pointer. At the end of the third quarter, the Heat led 74-69, Batum hit three long-range shots, and Philadelphia led 30-23 in the first quarter.
Butler attacks with the ball
In the final quarter, Oubre threw and scored, Embiid hit a long shot, and Philadelphia tied the score. The Heat conceded three-pointers in a row, Love scored a rebound, Oubre and Herro each made 2 free throws, Batum continued to make 2 long-range shots from the outside, and Adebayo scored in the restricted area. Reed dunked, Butler completed a dunk after a steal, Maxey scored on a layup, and Philadelphia went on a 17-8 run to take a four-point lead.
Hiro wins from the outside, and Nas calls a timeout. Harkes dunked, Herro scored with a throw, and the Heat responded with a 7-0 run. Batum scored a layup, and Spoelstra called a timeout. With only three minutes left before the end, the game was in full swing. Herro scored on a jumper, Embiid hit two free throws, and then hit a three-pointer that Herro scored from the outside. Embiid hit 2+1, Highsmith scored from mid-range and returned to color, Embiid missed a jumper, Herro missed, Oubre hit a 2+1 shot under the basket, and the Heat asked for a timeout.
Batum defends Butler
With just 36 seconds left in the game, Philadelphia led by three points, Batum blocked Herro's long-range shot, and the Heat scrambled for a rebound and fouled. Maxey hit 2 free throws, Highsmith scored on a quick layup, and Nurse called a timeout in a row. Oubre hit two free throws, Harkes scored on a jumper and Maxey hit two free throws with just eight seconds left to seal the win with Philadelphia leading by five points and Miami calling a timeout. Herro hit a free throw, Harkes missed from the outside, Highsmith grabbed a rebound and Herro hit a three-pointer. Lowry served to Batum and the game ran out. In the end, Philadelphia narrowly won 105-104 and staged a 14-point comeback.
Herro scored a game-high 25 points, plus 2 boards, 9 assists and 5 turnovers, but his turnovers and long-range shots were blocked in the final moments, causing the balance of victory to tip in his opponent's favor. Jovic had 5 points and 5 boards, Bam Adebayo had 10 points, 12 rebounds and 2 blocks, Martin had 5 points and 5 boards, Highsmith had 9 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals, Wright had 6 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals, Hawks had 15 points and 5 boards, and Love had 10 points and 2 boards.
Embiid defends Butler
Oubre scored 11 points and 8 boards in the decisive moment, Harris scored 9 points and 10 boards (fighting a game-high 5 frontcourt rebounds) and 4 assists, but was abandoned in the final moment, Lowry 7 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals, Maxey 19 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists, Hield 7 points and 6 assists, Reid 6 points and 2 boards.
Philadelphia reverses the Heat to advance!
The 76ers were able to advance to the playoffs, where they will face the Knicks in the first round. The Heat will face the winner of the Bulls vs. Hawks for the final playoff ticket in the Eastern Conference.
The 76ers advance to the playoffs
Embiid 23+15
Philadelphia interior giant Joel Embiid performed well in this game. Embiid played 38 minutes, shooting 6-of-17, 2-of-4 from three-point range and 9-of-10 from the free-throw line, recording a double-double of 23 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal. Embiid scored the team's highest score and was the rebounding champion of the game. Embiid, meanwhile, had the second-most assists on the team. Embiid showed his versatility, and he was even more aggressive in the final moments of the final quarter.
Embiid ushered in a burst and led the team to advance
At the decisive moment, Embiid scored 8 points in a row with free throws + three points + three points + front board hit 2+1, and then assisted Oubre to score 2+1 to establish a solid foundation for the lead. Embiid's wonderful play is the basis for Philadelphia to be able to reverse and win.
Batum scored 6 3-pointers
76ers forward Nicolas Batum played an amazing performance in this game. Batum played 28 minutes off the bench, shooting 7-of-12, 6-of-10 from three-point range, and free throws, and got 20 points, 5 rebounds and 1 block. Batum was efficient enough to score the second-highest score on the team and also made a game-high six long-range shots on 60 percent shooting. Batum, who scored 17 points in the second half, became the vanguard of Philadelphia's pursuit of points.
Batum was on fire from the outside
In the decisive moment, Batum scored a rebound, and also created Herro's return court violation and blocked the latter's key three-pointer. At the same time, Batum made a huge contribution to Philadelphia's eventual victory by guarding Butler in the final moments, making it difficult for the latter to find a touch of the ball. Clippers veteran Batum can be called the winner of this battle.
Butler 19+5 steals
Heat star Jimmy Butler had a strong performance in this game. Butler played 40 minutes, shooting 5-of-18, 2-of-6 from three-point range and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line, and finished with 19 points, four rebounds, five assists and five steals. Butler suffered an injury in the first quarter, but he continued to play with the injury. Butler showed an all-round skill and was also the steal king of the game. Under Butler's leadership, the Heat took a 14-point lead at one point.
Butler against Maxey
However, Butler failed to make a shot in the final four minutes of the game, which was a big reason for the Heat's tragic reversal.