Miami, Jan. 16 (BUS): Joel Embiid scored 25 points out of 32 points in the second half, and Philadelphia 76ers beat the Miami Heat 109-98 on Saturday night.
Classified as questionable to play due to right elbow soreness, the 76-year-old Embiid has helped outmaneuver Miami’s 66-48 in the last two periods, the AP reports.
“There is no way I could have played worse than I did in the first half,” Embiid said of his 3 for 11 shot. “I feel like I was probably the worst player in the NBA in that first half. All I needed to do was be aggressive.”
Tobias Harris added 22 points in a 9 of 13 shootout. Seth Curry finished with 21 points for 76, who won nine out of 10.
“Obviously we went down early but we used our defense to rise again in the game,” Harris said. “And we kept our composure throughout the second half.”
Philadelphia did not give up the lead after Harris’s throw in the second minute of the fourth quarter for a 77-75 advantage.
“There are a lot of games in the regular season and you are really happy with it,” said 76ers coach Doc Rivers. “It feels bigger than one game. That’s it at the end of the day. Just coming here and winning a game when they’re playing really well, it’s a great time for us.”
Omar Yurtseven scored 22 points and scored 11 rebounds for Miami. The rookie center expanded the double-digit bounce game series to 14.
The 76ers wiped out a 12-point deficit early in the third period with 26-12 runs to close the quarter. Curry put a 3-pointer to finish in front of Philadelphia 75-73 for the first lead since the first period.
Miami’s Jimmy Butler, who averages a lead of 23.2 points, finished eight points on 1 of 11. In addition to Butler’s shooting problems, teammates Kyle Lowry hit 2 for 11 and Duncan Robinson 1 for 9.
“It’s part of the game,” Butler said. “You’re not going to do shots every night. But I don’t think I or anyone else will miss shots that are going to break us in any way. I think if we guard a little bit better, and stick to that side of the floor, we’ll always give ourselves a chance to win.”
It was the first time in Heat history that three players, with at least nine attempts each, shot that poorly in the same match.
“Maybe we should have invited Shaq to a different game,” Heat coach Eric Spoelstra said.
The Heat had Shaquille O’Neal – center in the 2006 title team – as a guest, welcoming him back to a building where his number 32 was hanging among the retired jerseys.
They could have used it against Embiid, who has now scored at least 28 points in his last 11 games on the road.
“He pretty much showed his full set of skills tonight,” Spoilstra said. “His confrontational ability… he showed a lot of skill, especially in that fourth quarter.”
But Spoelstra was also impressed by Yurtseven who exceeded all expectations in the absence of quarterback Bam Adebayo. The Heat Adebayo may recover on Monday; He’s been missing out for the past six weeks while recovering from thumb surgery.
Hint
76ers: Rivers said G Matisse Thybulle (right shoulder ache) will have an MRI. Thibault was the victim of two egregious 1 fouls against Boston on Friday. …J Danny Green (hip ache) sat out his second game in a row. … Philadelphia improved to 8-16 on the road.
Heat: Foot Butler’s free throw in the fourth quarter ended a streak of 42 consecutive times. …the loss ended seven consecutive matches at home. … Miami’s January 15-game schedule features 11 players who have qualified for the 2021 season.
Additional Heat Sets
The Heat completed their second home games on Saturday and with the second half of their 25-game schedule at the FTX Arena, the club will have three more sets of consecutive days. The five consecutive home combos is the second in franchise history.
next one
76ers: Wrap up a two-game wild ride on Monday in Washington.
Heat: Toronto hosts on Monday.