Embiid leads 76ers over reeling Heat, 124-114

MIAMI >> Joel Embiid scored 35 points and grabbed 18 rebounds, and the Philadelphia 76ers added to Miami’s early-season struggles by topping the Heat 124-114 on Monday night.

The win came hours after the 76ers finalized a trade with Minnesota to land four-time All-Star Jimmy Butler, who was in Philadelphia and not with the club in Miami. Butler will be introduced at the 76ers’ facility in Camden, New Jersey, on Tuesday, before he flies to Orlando and makes his debut with Philly on Wednesday night against the Magic.

JJ Redick scored 25 points, Furkan Korkmaz scored 16 and Ben Simmons and Mike Muscala each had 13 for Philadelphia.

Goran Dragic scored 22 points for Miami, which got 17 from Josh Richardson and 14 from Wayne Ellington. The Heat have dropped three straight, all of them at home.

It was the second time in a four-day span that Embiid went for at least 35 and 18; he had 42 points and 18 rebounds on Friday against Charlotte. Embiid was also 16 for 20 from the foul line — marking the ninth time that a player took at least 20 free throws against Miami and the first since LeBron James did it on Feb. 4, 2010.

It was the first meeting between the clubs since last season’s playoffs, when Philadelphia ousted Miami in five games in the first round. And while Philadelphia led most of the way in this one, the 76ers never really pulled away until the final moments.

Their first double-digit lead of the night came on Embiid’s step-back 3-pointer with 1:59 remaining. Simmons got loose for a dunk on the next Philadelphia possession, and that was the signal for most Miami fans to start heading to the exits.