After finally putting the final nail in the coffin with the Toronto Raptors the Sixers fans were feeling good. That was up until the news dropped over the weekend. The 76ers and Miami Heat will both be without major pieces of their roster in Game 1. Embiid suffered an orbital fracture at the end of Game 6 as well as a concussion. He will be out of Game 1 and possibly Game 2. Kyle Lowry was officially announced out with a hamstring injury. This will be Lowry’s third straight game he will be missing. Unfortunately, a fourth quarter implosion becomes costly for the SIxers.
Can Harden step up and handle the extra responsibility put on his plate. Deandre Jordan gets the nod as the starting big man. The rest of the starters remain the same.
In the Begining
Miami comes out on fire offensively. (Pun intended) The Sixers struggle out of the gate, especially on defense. You can see the missing Embiid element. Transition defense remains to be a problem.
The Sixers go on an 11-0 run to help shrink the gap. Changing zone defense seems to cool the Heat off. The comes to an end 30-22 in favor of the Heat. Harden with 5 points and 3 assists in the first.
At the Half
Tyler Herro comes off the bench with 10 straight points. Tobias Harris playing both ends of the court. Korkmaz and Milsap see their first real game minutes in the postseason
The Sixers start to fall behind again with a strong Miami offensive push. All hands on deck for Philly. The Sixers will not quit. They go on a 19-7 run and close the half with the lead, 51-50. Harris becomes the go-to guy on the court with 14 points. Harden with 12 at the half. Maxey starts to come alive with his speed and has 10 points to show for it. The big story is the defense for Philly picks up at the close of the half.
The Second Half
Back and forth the lead goes in the third. With some miscues and tighter defense from the Heat, the Sixers lose the lead. PJ Tucker ramps the physicality. Sixers chucking threes and looking for points. Tobias Harris breaks a three-minute plus drought with a timely triple. Harris puts up 21 points in the middle of the third quarter.
This cooled off by an 18-7 Heat score fest. Tyler Herro hit deep threes and Miami picked up multiple offensive rebounds for Miami. As the Sixers return to the zone defense towards the close they keep the game within reach with a 72-80 lead for Miami.
Fourth Quarter Implosion
The Miami Heat come out strong. The bench points lean very favorably towards the Heat. Philly is down by 16 top of the fourth. Forced passes and slop offensive miscues start to add up and the game starts to slip out of reach. Fatigue starts to set in for Philly and that is all she wrote. The Sixers are sorely missing Joel Embiid. This fourth-quarter implosion becomes costly for Philly. The final damage is 106-92 for Miami’s victory.
Danny Green becomes the ninth player in NBA history with at least career 300 three-pointers in the postseason. Tyrese Maxey has 19 points and 2 Assists. Tobias Harris shines with 27 points, 1 assist, and 6 rebounds. Harden with 16 points and 9 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Al is one of the two co-creators of Edge of Philly Sports. Al started radio and podcasting in 2012 and covering sports in 2015. A lifelong Philly sports fan since watching the Eagles, Phillies, Sixers, and Flyers with his grandfathers at age 7. Al always looks at the other side of the hot topics and gives his different outlook on those topics. Web and Graphic Design.
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