Philadelphia beat the Heat 105-104 to make it five ties, with Philadelphia leading by eight points at the most, and the Heat leading by 14 points at the most, with a one-point difference at the end of the game.
The Heat led by double digits at most, but Philadelphia didn't give up, closing the gap to two points in the second half with back-to-back scores, and then the game went into a tug-of-war, with the two sides alternating leads before going into the final minute with a tie. The intensity of the game was comparable to that of the playoffs, with Maxey hitting both free throws to seal the win and Philadelphia narrowly beat the Heat to enter the playoffs.
Heat players' game stats: Herro had 25 points, 2 rebounds and 9 assists on 9-of-27 shooting, Butler had 19 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists on 5-of-18 shooting, Bam Adebayo had 10 points and 12 rebounds on 5-of-9 shooting, Harkes had 15 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists on 6-of-11 shooting, Highsmith had 9 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists on 4-of-8 shooting, and Wright had 6 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists on 2-of-7 shooting.
Philadelphia players' stats: Embiid had 23 points, 15 rebounds and five assists on 6-of-17 shooting, Maxey had 19 points, three rebounds and six assists on 6-of-16 shooting, Harris had nine points, 10 rebounds and four assists on 4-of-10 shooting, Oubre had 11 points and eight rebounds on 3-of-9 shooting, Batum had 20 points and five rebounds on 7-of-12 shooting, and Hield had seven points, one rebound and six assists on 3-of-8 shooting.
The first three quarters were terrible, but the superstar wasn't going to let the slump last until the end of the game, with Embiid scoring eleven points in the fourth quarter. Embiid has just recovered from injury, but he's adapted to the rhythm of the confrontation and is sure to get better and better. After four quarters of fierce battle, Philadelphia held on to their home-court advantage to win key games and successfully enter the playoffs, where they will face the Knicks, who are predominantly young, in the first round. Where to watch the game: The 857 live play-offs are no less brutal and exciting than the playoffs, and star-level players have a lot of playing time, I don't know how Kerr will feel when he sees it.
Batum, who came off the bench and performed well off the bench, said that he knew he was an experienced player when he realized he could play five positions and was already defending superstars like Kidd and Nowitzki at the start of his career. Not only do Philadelphia have some of the league's biggest stars, they also have a lot of depth in their squad, and as long as the players are healthy and the head coach can field the best lineup, I believe they have what it takes to challenge for a championship.