Healthy Embiid thrives late, spurs 76ers’ rally past Heat
The host Philadelphia 76ers needed all the improbable tricks they could summon to have a chance at winning their first play-in game.
Nicolas Batum hit momentum-shifting 3-pointers. Buddy Hield was in the mix. Even the promise of free chicken nuggets was enough to revive an offense and smother the boos from Philly fans that rained inside the arena.
But, in crunch time, the game came down to Joel Embiid. Always Joel Embiid. With the NBA MVP on the court, the 76ers proved they have a shot at a long postseason run.
Embiid had 23 points, 15 rebounds and one huge assist to Findlay Prep product Kelly Oubre Jr. on a go-ahead three-point play that led Philadelphia past Miami 105-104 in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament Wednesday.
“We stuck together,” Embiid said.
“It just shows you that I don’t play my best, I don’t get to my spots the whole game until the fourth quarter, and we still find a way to win.”
The 76ers earned the No. 7 seed and advanced to play second-seeded New York in the opening round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Game 1 is Saturday at Madison Square Garden.
The Heat — who went from the play-in tourney to the NBA Finals a year ago — host Chicago on Friday, with the winner getting the No. 8 seed.
Embiid, who missed 43 games this season, exploded out of a quiet game late in the fourth and carried the Sixers back from 14 down in the second half. Batum added 20 points and Tyrese Maxey 19 for Philadelphia.
Embiid buried a go-ahead 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 2:33 left for a 93-91 lead that sent a crowd — that had about booed the Sixers out of the building at the half — into a frenzy. After Philadelphia blew that lead, Embiid converted a three-point play for a 96-94 edge.
With the game tied 96-all, Miami guard Tyler Herro was whistled for a backcourt violation. Embiid slipped the ball to Oubre under the basket for the bucket, the free throw and a 99-96 lead they did not give up.
Herro — who hit a 3 in the final second before the 76ers lost the ball out of bounds as time expired — totaled 25 points. Jimmy Butler, slowed by a first-half knee injury, had 19 for the Heat.
Butler said he will need an MRI on his right knee and is uncertain if he can play Friday. He was hurt late in the first quarter while trying to fake out Oubre, only to have his knee buckle, and he fell to the court.
■ Bulls 131, Hawks 116: At Chicago, Coby White scored a career-high 42 points for Chicago, which shot 56.8 percent and knocked Atlanta out of the play-in tournament.
Nikola Vucevic had 24 points and 12 rebounds and Demar Derozan 22 points and nine assists for the Bulls, who led 73-67 at halftime. They were up 88-85 when Vucevic hit a 3-pointer with 4:59 left in the third quarter to kick off a 17-2 run.
Dejounte Murray scored 30 points for the Hawks, who lost their final six regular-season games. Trae Young and Clint Capela each added 22 points for Atlanta.
Young, who missed 23 games late in the regular season because of a torn left pinkie ligament, had 10 assists and six turnovers. Capela had 17 rebounds.