MIAMI — The Philadelphia 76ers entered FTX Arena on Tuesday night looking to take control of this second-round series with the Miami Heat. The Sixers had won Games 3 and 4 pretty easily with the return of Joel Embiid and it seemed as if all of the momentum was on their side.
Instead, the Heat jumped on them early and they kept them down the entire game. Miami led by 18 points in the first half and after Philadelphia had cut the deficit to 10 in the third quarter, the Heat then went on a huge run to lead by as many as 37 and destroy the Sixers 120-85 in Game 5. They now hold a 3-2 lead as the series shifts back to Philadelphia.
It was obvious that the Sixers just didn’t have it from the jump and the poor effort was surprising following two good wins at home. Afterward, they tried explaining what went wrong from the jump.