Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
NBA PLAYOFFS: Sixers 128, Heat 108
Philadelphia takes 2-1 lead in series.
MIAMI — The Miami Heat had enough grit, turning this into a foul-filled street fight.
They had enough fire, Justise Winslow chasing down Joel Embiid for a blocked shot, Goran Dragic flexing amid his thirdquarter scoring outburst.
But what they did not have were enough weapons or the ability to sustain, eventually worn down in a 128-108 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night at AmericanAirlines Arena.
“We went through a drought and they kept on scoring,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We just have to figure it out and complete it for 48-minute game.”
On a night Embiid reappeared as a masked man, a night Heat center Hassan Whiteside again disappeared amid foul trouble, the Heat fell to a 2-1 deficit in the best-of-seven opening-round NBA playoff series.
With the Heat able to muster little of consistency beyond the 23 points of Dragic and 19 first-half points of Justise Winslow, the 76ers methodically utilized the depth their roster to reclaim home court advantage.
Embiid, sidelined the previous 10 games with a facial fracture, sparked the 76ers with 23 points, going 10 of 15 from the line and contributing to the Heat’s foul trouble.
“I am so proud what he did on the court,” 76ers coach Brett Brown said, “and the professionalism he showed as this was all
“It’s going to require more. It’s as simple as that.” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra
playing out.”
At one point, Embiid had to swap out masks after Winslow stepped on the fallen lens of his first mask.
“Fortunately we had one in the bullpen,” Brown said, choosing not to criticize Winslow. “It’s part of the game. Justise is good people.”
Embiid was supported by 21 points apiece from Dario Saric and Marco Belinelli, with 76ers point guard Ben Simmons closing with 19 points, 12 rebound and seven assists.
The 76ers outscored the Heat 32-14 in the fourth quarter, now with a staggering 361 points against the Heat in the three games, including the two highestscoring playoff games ever against the Heat.
“In the first half, both teams were scoring pretty easily,” Brown said. “But then I go straight to our defense.”
Whiteside, in contrast to Embiid, had a single basket in yet another foul-filled performance, closing with five points and two rebounds in 13:14 of court time.
“That’s part of my job is to figure it out and figure it out how I can get him to his strength,” Spoelstra said.
Game 4 is Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on the Heat’s home court before moving on to Philadelphia for Tuesday’s Game 5.
“It’s going to require more,” Spoelstra said. “It’s as simple as that.”
The 76ers had Embiid back in their starting lineup, with Ersan Ilyasova back with the second unit. Philadelphia’s opening lineup was rounded out by Saric and Robert Covington at forward, J.J. Redick and Simmons at guard.
The Heat remained with an opening five of Whiteside at center, James Johnson and Josh Richardson at forward, Dragic and Tyler Johnson at guard.
The game turned when the 76ers opened the fourth quarter with a 9-1 run, with the Heat relying too much offensively on Game 2 hero Dwyane Wade and unable to get Whiteside going. It led to a Heat timeout with 9:11 to play, down 105-95.
That is when Whiteside finally got his lone shot and basket of the night, dunking off a Wade alley-oop pass to help draw the Heat within 105-99.
The 76ers again pushed to a double-digit lead, with a pair of Richardson 3-pointers keeping the Heat within striking distance before an Embiid 3-pointer put the 76ers up 117-105 with 4:39 to play.
The 76ers took off from there.
Whiteside’s foul trouble continued with his fourth with 8:27 to play in third period, on an Embiid drive. The 76ers then moved into the bonus with 7:49 to play in third period.
As the free throws continued to build up, the 76ers took a 96-94 lead into the fourth quarter.
The game turned contentious with 10:26 left in the second period, when Wade and Justin Anderson got into it along the baseline. Each was called for a “physical taunting” technical foul.
In a first half loaded with fouls, free throws, four technical fouls and bodies flying, the Heat emerged with a 64-63 halftime lead.
Winslow closed the first half with 19 points, one more than he scored in any regular-season game this season. He then went scoreless in the second half.
The Game 2 foul trouble carried over for Whiteside, who was forced to the bench with his second foul with 6:46 left in first period on a pump fake from lowscoring 76ers backup center Amir Johnson.
Whiteside later was called for his third foul with 8:15 left in second period.
The 76ers won the series opener 130-103 Saturday, in the highest-scoring playoff game by a Heat opponent. The Heat then won Game 2 113-103 Monday in Philadelphia, to snap the 76ers’ 17-game winning streak.
This game was the Heat’s first home playoff game since they defeated the Raptors 103-91 in Game 6 of the 2016 Eastern Conference semifinals.