MIAMI — The Philadelphia 76ers knew this series was not going to be easy. To go up against the No. 1 seed in the East without your best player is a tall task for any team. Without Joel Embiid the Sixers got a little funky with their lineups and they gave the Miami Heat a bit of a battle all night long in Game 1.
Despite falling behind by 14 points early, Philadelphia battled back and they took a 51-50 halftime lead in Miami. Every time it looked like the Heat would then pull away in the second half, the Sixers would answer back and make it a game. Alas, the Heat did eventually pull away and walked away with a 106-92 victory, but the Sixers can feel good about their effort heading into Game 2. They had a lot of open looks, but they couldn’t convert.
Tobias Harris led the Sixers with 27 points and six rebounds, James Harden had 16 points, nine rebounds, and five assists, and Tyrese Maxey added 19 points. Paul Reed gave four points and nine rebounds off the bench.
Here are the player grades following the Game 1 loss: