76ers Sweep Miami Heat in South Philly With Dominant Win
On Thursday night, the Philadelphia 76ers went to war with the Miami Heat once again as they wrapped up a series in South Philly. On Tuesday night, the two teams met for the first time this season as they were both missing a notable portion of their rosters.
However, the Sixers seemingly had the upper-hand in the battle as they got their two stars, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, back in the mix. Despite having more star power available, the Heat gave the Sixers a stiff challenge as the game had to go into overtime. Once it got to that point, Sixers center Joel Embiid took over and led Philly to a 137-134 victory.
After being extremely shorthanded for the last few games, the Sixers are finally getting back on track as more players returned to the lineup for the second matchup against the Heat. On Thursday, Sixers starting forward, Tobias Harris was back out on the floor.
Along with Harris, Shake Milton and Matisse Thybulle joined their team off the bench for the first time in a few games as well. On the other hand, Miami continued missing several key players such as Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Goran Dragic, and more.
With the Sixers gaining even more strength back, many anticipated a much better showing against the Heat on Thursday night after Philly struggled throughout the game on Tuesday night. In the first quarter, the Sixers got off to a decent start.
After shooting 65-percent from the field, and 66-percent from three, the 76ers got off to a 38-30 lead over the Heat. Philly's first-round rookie Tyrese Maxey found himself in the starting lineup once again on Thursday and led the Sixers through the first quarter by shooting five-for-five from the field for 11 points.
In the second quarter, the Sixers played better as a collective and managed to get out to a double-digit lead thanks to a little help from the bench. The team's second-round rookie Isaiah Joe checked in for nearly six minutes and went two-for-two beyond-the-arc, accounting for six points.
Sixers six-man Shake Milton, who was ruled out for the last few games, didn't miss a step as he came out and dropped ten points off the bench in the second quarter, totaling for a team-high of 19 points heading into halftime. Through two quarters, the 76ers had a comfortable 73-58 lead over the Heat.
This time around, the Sixers didn't need to rely heavily on a dominant quarter from Joel Embiid. Instead, Ben Simmons helped lead the charge on offense as he put up nine points and accounted for three assists. After another strong shooting quarter, the Sixers outscored the Heat by five points and kept their strong double-digit lead heading into the fourth as the Heat trailed by 20 points.
By the time the final quarter rolled around, the Heat didn't have much left in the tank. The Sixers continued rolling and kept their foot on the gas en route to a blowout win. Sixers forward Tobias Harris led all starters in scoring as he collected 18 points in 29 minutes for his first game back since last week.
Meanwhile, Shake Milton dominated off the bench as he shot 11-for-17 from the field, accounting for a game-high of 31 points. Thanks to a strong offensive showing, the Sixers were able to take care of business at home with a dominant 125-108 win over the shorthanded Heat on Thursday. Now, the Sixers improve to 9-4 on the year.
