The Philadelphia 76ers had a chance late. They were given a gift as Miami Heat guard Kendrick Nunn missed two free throws with 12.7 seconds left to give Philadelphia a chance down 106-104. This was a perfect opportunity for somebody to step up and take and make a big shot.
Ben Simmons grabbed the board, he sped up the court and he then passed it out to an open Al Horford to go for the win, but he came up short. Miami’s Bam Adebayo then knocked down two free throws to seal a 108-104 win for the Heat. It was the first time the Sixers had lost on their home floor all season.
Simmons had a chance to attack, but he decided to kick it out to Horford. At the moment, it’s the right basketball play and it’s a play that coach Brett Brown was happy with.
“Ben was trying to do the right thing and probe,” said Brown. “At that point, it’s a two-point game, we didn’t have timeouts, it was on the fly, and it’s an open look. So I’m not unhappy with that.”
In hindsight, could Simmons have attacked the basket? The Heat did employ a zone defense so it was tough to figure out all night.
“I give Miami credit, they crowded the paint, Ben’s a missile, playing downhill,” Brown added. “They showed a crowd, he kicked it out. A 2 would’ve been good, a 3 would’ve won it and so I don’t mind the look.”
The Sixers will look to bounce back on Friday when they host the Dallas Mavericks who are missing their star player, Luka Doncic. [lawrence-related id=21637,21626,21609]