MIAMI — The Philadelphia 76ers needed a bounce-back effort on Wednesday night when they faced the Miami Heat. Philadelphia had lost two in a row, including one to the Heat at home on Monday.
They did so in a big way in Miami to begin a five-game road trip. They led the Heat by as many as 25 and cruised to a 119-96 win. They were led by their starting backcourt of James Harden and Tyrese Maxey, who combined for 50 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. They consistently found ways to score against a stingy Heat defense.
“We just tried to get into their paint,” said Harden. “They did a good job of slowing the game down last game. So we wanted to come out and be aggressive, get into their paint, and create opportunities for ourselves and our teammates. In that second quarter, we had a really good job of that.”
Harden and the Sixers used a big second quarter in South Florida. After Heat guard Max Strus hit a 3 to give Miami a 43-39 lead, Philadelphia ended the half on a 32-10 run and led, 71-53, at the break.
After that, the Heat never got it to below double digits and the Sixers cruised to a big win.
“Defensively,” Harden stated about the second quarter. “Defensively, got after it. Got some stops transition, open shots, layups, things like that. We were just active defensively.”
Miami shot 26.3% and 1-for-8 from deep in the second quarter as they couldn’t keep up with the Sixers and it resulted in Philadelphia coming out on top.
Now, they will look to carry this effort with them to Dallas for a matchup with the Mavericks on Thursday.
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