Butler suffered an injury in the first quarter, but he continued to play with the injury, but his performance was affected after that. Batum's pivotal three-pointer and block in the fourth quarter brought Philadelphia the victory. On April 18, 2024, Beijing time, the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Miami Heat 105-104. Embiid had 23 points, 15 rebounds and five assists, and Batum had 20 points and five rebounds. On the Heat's side, Butler had 19 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists.
If it weren't for Embiid's absence, I'm afraid Philadelphia would have locked up the playoffs in advance, but now Philadelphia needs to play in the play-offs, which is also a test for this team. Embiid continued to be in good shape after his comeback, but he withdrew from the MVP selection due to a lack of appearances. Now facing a difficult situation, Embiid needs to lead the team out of the difficult situation with a more vigorous state. As for the Heat, as the toughest team in the league, there is still hope for another miracle this season after a miracle performance last season. The Heat took a tight restrictive on Embiid after the opening game, and Maxey was hit in the face by Butler in the scramble, and the game was suspended shortly after the game began. After the timeout, Maxey quickly completed a steal and scored a fast break, and Jovic scored a 2-point basket to break the scoring drought with the Heat. At 4:09 in the first quarter, Embiid finally got a single opportunity, although he failed to shoot and score, but caused Adebayo to foul defensively, and when he made free throws, Embiid enjoyed the call of the home fans as "MVP".
Embiid then went into singles mode, first hitting a mid-range shot and then causing another defensive foul on Adebayo, and the noise at Philadelphia's home court began to grow. Embiid threatened the inside, Philadelphia got a shot from the outside, and after Lowry's three-pointer hit the Philadelphia was eight points ahead of the Heat. Butler, who played as soon as he got to the playoffs, began to get into a state of focus, and continued to score through mid-range shots after consecutive early periods. When Philadelphia began to defend Butler, he assisted on a three-point shot by Harkes, and after Love hit a free throw, the Heat took the lead. The Heat then used a joint defense strategy, causing Philadelphia to make consecutive mistakes, and Harkes easily singled out Embiid under the basket, and Love also hit a three-pointer on the counterattack. However, Butler was pressed to his right leg by Oubre on the offensive end, and the tenacious Butler insisted on playing with an injury. Embiid went to rest, and there was a big hole in Philadelphia's interior line, even though Harris grabbed rebounds in the front court in a row, but he was never able to score the ball, such a poor performance was also booed by Philadelphia's home fans.
The Heat's tough style of play put a lot of pressure on Philadelphia, resulting in a low shooting percentage on the offensive end. The Heat seized the opportunity to fight back one after another, building a 14-point lead at one point. Philadelphia ramped up their defense and narrowed the margin to single digits. However, Butler once again played the role of Mr. Key, hitting a three-pointer from the bottom corner to stabilize the situation for the Heat. Bam Adebayo gave Oubre a big hat, Martin made Embiid a defensive foul on the counter, and the Heat easily suppressed Philadelphia's counterattack. Entering the middle of the third quarter, the referees lowered the scale of the defense, and Philadelphia gradually increased the intensity of the defense, knocking the Heat players to the ground many times in the defense. With a defensive counterattack, Philadelphia narrowed the gap to three points in one fell swoop.
Philadelphia stepped up its offensive efforts on the outside, and Batum became a wonder man on the court, and after consecutive three-pointers, Philadelphia overtook the score. However, the Heat's grasp of the game will not be broken by Philadelphia's counterattack, and they once again went on a 7-0 run to regain the lead. Batum's shot was interfered with by Adebayo, but Embiid grabbed the rebound and then drew a defensive foul and a free throw from Harkes to give Philadelphia a two-point lead over the Heat with 1:47 left in the game. Highsmith broke through and made a jumper, and the Heat leveled the score. Embiid missed the basket, Herro made a mistake on the court, and Oubre made a 2+1 basket. Batum delivered a key block, Maxey was fouled and hit two free throws on the counter, and Philadelphia took a five-point lead. The Heat scored two quick points, and Oubre was fouled under the basket and steadily scored the ball. The Heat had no chance to fight back and ended up losing to Philadelphia on the road.