The Philadelphia 76ers put their perfect home record on the line Wednesday night when they hosted the Miami Heat. For the first time this season, they were unable to protect their home court, falling 108-104.
In the first quarter, it appeared the game might be a repeat of the first meeting between the teams, when the Sixers trounced the Heat 113-86. Philadelphia built a comfortable 12-point lead and carried a 10-point advantage into the second quarter.
That’s when things fell apart, and the disastrous second quarter ultimately doomed the Sixers. Philadelphia struggled at both ends of the floor, surrendering a whopping 37 points while scoring just 19. Suddenly a 10-point lead was an eight-point deficit at the break.
The teams played even in the third, but Miami made another push in the fourth, extending the lead to 16 with just under eight minutes to go. The Sixers then showed some impressive resolve, making a big push and eventually pulling to within one possession. They trailed by just two with 25.7 seconds left, and Al Horford had a chance to give the Sixers the lead with a 3 with 4.8 seconds left but missed the mark. Bam Adebayo connected on two free throws to ice the game.
Joel Embiid led the way for the Sixers with 22 points, 19 rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. Tobias Harris added 20 points, while Josh Richardson and Ben Simmons added 17 each.
Philadelphia’s bench struggled, contributing just 19 points. Each member of the bench finished with a negative plus/minus.
Ultimately, cold shooting and defense that wasn’t up to par in the second quarter doomed the Sixers, as they never quite recovered from the poor showing in that period.
It was nice to see the team fight back and almost stage a furious comeback, but it was also a disappointing way to see the team’s 14-game home winning streak come to an end. The Sixers have now dropped two straight and Wednesday’s loss dropped them to fifth in a tight Eastern Conference.
The team will look to get back on track Friday when it hosts the Dallas Mavericks. [lawrence-related id=21609,21592,21575]