Sixers beat Heat, despite nearly blowing 28-point lead

What seemed like it was going to be an easy win for the Sixers (25-24) on Friday night turned into a familiar nightmare at the end. Another blown lead, this time at the hands of the Heat (29-23).

 

Luckily, the Sixers corrected themselves at the end and avoided an embarassing loss on their home floor.

 

The anticipated Embiid-Whiteside matchup didn't quite live up to the hype as both players dealt with cases of foul trouble that led to a number of substitutions.

 

Joel Embiid found himself with five total fouls in the contest, while Hassan Whiteside, who only committed two fouls, still was ineffective for Miami throughout, scoring only four points, grabbing nine rebounds, and blocking three shots.

 

The Sixers were led by Dario Saric pretty much right out of the gate, finishing with 17 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and two steals. He shot 7-of-13 from the field. Saric got his total to 17 less than three minutes into the second half.

 

Ben Simmons had yet another quality night, scoring a team high 20 points, with six boards, five assists, two steals, and a block. Simmons was playing just one day removed from getting snubbed from a third possible All-Star Game roster spot. 

 

After putting up insane statlines in the two games after being snubbed before, Simmons had yet another outing with something to prove. The amazing stat of the night for the Sixers point guard was zero turnovers, a stat that has plagued the Sixers all season long.

 

Joel Embiid scored 17 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and added four assists with three blocks. He finshed at a +11 on the night.

 

The Sixers bench combined for 23 points, and were completely outscored by the Heat bench 57-23. Kelly Olynyk had 19 points off the bench, Wayne Ellington scored 16, and Bam Adebayo added 15.

 

Justin Anderson led the Sixers bench with 11 points, shooting 4-for-4 from the field, with a rebound, an assist, and a steal.

 

The Sixers found themselves up 28 at one point in the fourth quarter, when the Heat went on a 17-0 run before the Sixers scored off of Embiid free throws. A 24-4 Heat run before the Sixers decided to wake up had them trailing by only single digits.

 

The Heat outscored the Sixers 37-17 in the fourth quarter right after the Sixers edged the Heat in the third by a score of 35-19.

 

The Sixers were hot from the field on Friday night, shooting 49.4% (42-85), while Miami shot 39.1% (34-87). The Heat outrebounded the Sixers 49-39, but the Sixers did a lot better with their assists, out-assisting the Heat 28-20.

 

The win puts the Sixers a game over .500 yet again and snaps a three-game losing streak. A milestone was also reached as head coach Brett Brown won his 100th career game in his fifth season with the Sixers at the helm. Brown is now 100-277.

 

The Sixers will play the second game of the back-to-back tomorrow night in Indiana. Joel Embiid is expected to play in what will be the first completed back-to-back of his career.