PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers had one last chance at home on Monday night when they played host to the Miami Heat. Looking to bounce back from a tough loss on Saturday, the Sixers had one last shot while trailing 101-99.
Heat star Jimmy Butler split two free throws and put Miami up by two with 8.8 seconds left. Philadelphia gave the ball to Joel Embiid and as he was attacking Bam Adebayo, the Heat sent Caleb Martin to double. The big fella kicked it out to James Harden who launched a 3, but it hit the back rim and the Heat walked away with the win.
“Just back rim,” said a dejected Harden afterward. “It felt real good coming off my hands, though. I was already celebrating before, but it’s one of those games. Tough fought game. We put ourselves in a position where we gave them I think 18 more attempts than us in our first time, which is way too many in this league. We did a good job of fighting back, but just once again come up short.”
To Harden’s point, the Heat took 18 more shots in the first half than Philadelphia. That allowed them to take advantage of the offensive opportunities and lead 58-50 at halftime.
Overall, the Sixers had a tough night executing on offense. They committed 20 turnovers, including four in the fourth quarter. Coach Doc Rivers wasn’t happy with the execution down the stretch.
“Either Joel with the 2 or, we anticipated them trapping,” said Rivers. “I wanna watch because James should have been at the top by himself and our end-of-the-game execution didn’t feel great. I want to say without knowing that someone else was in a spot that they shouldn’t have been in because James should have been at the top by himself. I think there were two guys up there, but I gotta watch the play again.”
Sixers lose to Heat 101-99
James Harden missed at buzzer pic.twitter.com/8QL2oSMJkV
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) February 28, 2023
The Sixers had their chance, but they weren’t able to come away with the win. Harden had a good look, but he wasn’t able to come through. Embiid added he will take that look every time.
“I thought the last play was well ran,” said Embiid. “We followed the game plan and he got a great shot. I thought that they came and they doubled, and I made the right play. Just missed it. He’s gonna make the next one.”
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