On Wednesday, Miami’s zone defense confused the 76ers and drew boos from the Philadelphia crowd.
Then a hot run from 3 and a free chicken promotion lifted the 76ers and their fans as Philadelphia rallied from a 14-point deficit to a 105-104 victory over the Heat in the NBA play-in tournament.
With the win, the 76ers advance as the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and will face the No. 2 seed New York Knicks in the first round. The loss puts the Heat in Friday’s play-in elimination game against the Chicago Bulls or Atlanta Hawks. The winner earns the No. 8 seed. Loser’s season is over.
Heat dominates the first half
Philadelphia trudged through a sluggish first half that Miami controlled on its way to a 51-39 halftime lead. The 76ers couldn’t work through or over the Heat zone as they shot 32.6% from the field and 3 of 18 (16.7%) from 3.
Philadelphia’s 11th turnover of the half allowed Miami to take a 37-26 lead, prompting a chorus of boos from the home crowd. A 9-0 Heat run capped by a Tyler Herro 3 gave Miami a 51-37 lead and drew more boos from the Philadelphia faithful. The 76ers seemed ready.
76ers, crowd comes alive after halftime
But the crowd woke up midway through the quarter when Miami’s Caleb Martin missed two free throws, leading to a free chicken promotion.
When the 76ers responded with a 5-0 run to cut Miami’s lead to 59-53, the fans were in an uproar. Nicolas Batum led a three-point barrage, going 5-of-9 from long range in the third quarter as the 76ers cut their deficit to 74-69. Batum’s fifth 3 of the game early in the fourth gave the 76ers a 79-76 lead, their first since the first quarter.
From then on, the game was a back-and-forth contest with Philadelphia pulling away in the final minute. The 76ers hit their free throws down the stretch as Miami tried to extend the game while trailing in the final seconds.
Embiid struggles, still leads 76ers
Joel Embiid scored 11 in the fourth after struggling for much of the game. After spending the season finale resting the knee injury that cost him 29 games in the regular season, he looked far from his best against Miami as he shot 6 of 17 from the field. He still had 23 points, a game-high 15 rebounds and five assists. Batum made six 3-pointers off the bench in a 20-point, five-rebound effort.
After turning the ball over 11 times in the first half, the 76ers finished with 15 for the game. They shot 9 of 17 from 3 in the second half after their disastrous first half effort and finished 12 of 35 (34.3%) from long range for the game.
Jimmy Butler led the defensive charge for Miami in the first half, scoring 19 points, five assists, four rebounds and five steals. His steals repeatedly led to easy buckets at the other end for the Heat. Tyler Herro overcame a poor shooting night (9 of 27) to lead the Heat with 25 points and nine assists. Bam Adebayo held his own against Embiid with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
But the Heat ultimately fell short when their defense failed to slow down Philadelphia’s three-point shooting in the second half.
How will the 76ers fare against the Knicks?
The win sets up an intriguing first-round playoff matchup between Philadelphia and New York. After falling into the play-in tournament with their MVP candidate sidelined, the 76ers are now safely in the playoffs with Embiid back in the lineup. If he’s anywhere near full strength for their Game 1 matchup and beyond, the 76ers won’t be an ordinary No. 7 seed.
The Knicks, meanwhile, won’t be playing at full strength. All-Star Julius Randle is out for the season due to a shoulder injury. OG Anunoby is back after missing 27 games in the second half of the season with an elbow injury. He played the last six games of the regular season.
Game 1 between the Knicks and 76ers is scheduled for Saturday at 6:00 PM ET at Madison Square Garden.
