PHILADELPHIA–The Philadelphia 76ers had to make a decision on Monday when they took on the Miami Heat. They were shorthanded as they were without both Joel Embiid and James Harden and they got set to take on the No. 1 seed in the East without their two stars.
The Sixers were able to come away with a 113-106 upset win over the Heat at home thanks to the heroic play of Tyrese Maxey as well as Shake Milton and Furkan Korkmaz off the bench. Maxey had 28, Milton had 20, and Korkmaz had 18.
An underrated part of the win was Paul Millsap. The 16-year veteran earned the start instead of backup big man DeAndre Jordan and he had five points, four rebounds, a steal, and a block in 23:02 of playing time.
Coach Doc Rivers explained why he went to Millsap to start in place of Embiid.
“I just like DJ off the bench,” said Rivers. “I also thought with Shake and Furk, we needed a roller with that group. With Tobias (Harris) and Tyrese, you didn’t necessarily need the roller as much. So that’s why we did it.”
Millsap proved in this one that he can still be called upon and give the Sixers a boost in a pinch. He isn’t some hugely important piece, but the veteran from Louisiana Tech can still be helpful for this team in moments such as this one.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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