Sixers survive, beat Heat for 3-1 series lead

By Josh Liddick, Sports Talk Philly editor 

It was extremely chippy at times in Game 4, and turnovers were the big storyline, but the Philadelphia 76ers (3-1) somehow pulled out a 106-102 victory over the Miami Heat (1-3) to take a 3-1 lead in the first round series.

The Sixers had all the chances in the world to score in quick and concise opportunities, but turnovers, which haunted the team all season long, took over and was the main reason for the team's collapse in certain stages of the game.

26 turnovers was the story for the Sixers, and the Heat made sure that no points were going to be taken for granted, as they played intense defense throughout that forced the Sixers to cough the ball up a lot more than they would've liked.

Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons were the main culprits on the turnover game, as Embiid finished with eight, Simmons with seven.

But Ben Simmons highlighted the Sixers in other ways, capturing a triple-double to become the first rookie since Magic Johnson to get a triple-double in a playoff game.

Simmons finished with 17 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists, and four steals, and was absolutely electric down the stretch, really giving the Sixers the edge late in the game. Without Simmons and his incredible dunks and inside drives, the Sixers wouldn't have been able to get the advantage late and pull away.

Simmons showed his offensive prowess, as well as his immense defensive abilities once again in a playoff scenario.

Bound with eight turnovers during the game, Embiid still managed to score 14 points and grab 10 boards, but the real standout stat of the game for the Sixers' big man was the day he had shot blocking. Embiid finished with five blocked shots, some were more emphatic than others.

Embiid needed to be physical, especially with the Miami defense swarming him all game long, led by Hassan Whiteside, who had a super resurgent day. Whiteside finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds in a series-high 26 minutes, but he provided a major spark at points for the Heat that managed to switch momentum over to his side.

Back over to the Sixers, all five of the starters finished in double digits scoring. JJ Redick had a team-high 24 points, Dario Saric had 11, Robert Covington 10. Ersan Ilyasova and Marco Belinelli each scored 10 points off the bench.

The Sixers shot 42.9 percent (36-84) as a team from the field, 22.6 percent (7-31) from beyond, and 77.1 percent (27-35) from the line. 

The Heat shot slightly better from the field at 43.6 percent (41-94), 36.8 percent (7-19) from three, and a sub-par 52 percent (13-25) from the charity stripe. Miami had 19 turnovers, still high, but not nearly as many as the Sixers had.

The Heat were led by Dwyane Wade off the bench, who scored a game-high 25 points on 10-of-22 shooting. Goran Dragic was impressive, scoring 20 points, with four steals, and three assists. James Johnson had 15 points, Josh Richardson scored 10, and Wayne Ellington had 10 of the bench.

The Sixers and Heat both got themselves in foul trouble, as both sides were issued two technical fouls. Miami had 32 personal fouls on the day, Philadelphia finished with 25 fouls.

Along the lines of those technical fouls, both teams needed to be separated on multiple occasions. Ben Simmons and James Johnson found themselves in a bit of a scuffle early on. Lots of trash talking that can be expected during a playoff atmosphere.

The Sixers found themselves in a peculiar situation late in the third quarter with the game a little too close for comfort. The Sixers, though, outscored the Heat 27-19 in the fourth quarter to pull away for the four-point win.

Tuesday will be Game 5 of the series at the Wells Fargo Center, where the Sixers can win and advance to the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals to face either the Boston Celtics or Milwaukee Bucks.