“It was annoying”, Embiid said of getting used to the mask.
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From the opening tip Tuesday night, this felt like an old-school playoff game.
Whiteside did not hold back in venting his frustrations earlier this month after playing 20 minutes against the Brooklyn Nets before being benched for all of the fourth quarter and overtime.
The mask came off a couple times, the goggles were askew at times as well – Heat forward Justise Winslow even stomping on them once for good measure, a play that Brown chalked up to the intensity of playoff basketball – but in the end Embiid found a way.
Embiid had 23 points (and went 3-for-4 from long distance) in his first game since injuring his orbital bone back in March. Miami put together a 9-2 run of their own to cut Philadelphia’s lead to four, but the Sixers closed out the first with a 37-33 lead. He hit three of his first four 3-point attempts and triumphantly raised his fist to the exuberant crowd after one of his long-range rainbows went through.
It was a tale of two teams for the Sixers – one with Embiid, and a faster one when he sat – and Miami had trouble adjusting to the different but effective versions of the Heat. He finished with 19 points, and his plus-minus was minus-27, the worst on the Heat.
The chippy nature of the Miami Heat’s first-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers has been evident virtually from the start of the series’ first three games. Tonight, there was no hero ball by Wade sadly, and the Sixers took a 2-1 series lead after an 128-108 win. So, he should be expected to see his usual workload of about 30 minutes per game – possibly more considering it’s the playoffs.
Then Goran Dragic and Philaldephia’s Marco Belinelli kept jawing at each other in Game 3.
MIAMI (AP) – Joel Embiid is apparently done with Philadelphia’s latest process.
“I love blowing teams out”, 213cm centre Embiid told reporters. He had 12 points and 5 assists in the first half. The Heat kept trying to rough up the Sixers, who wouldn’t back down. If the Sixers can win, they’ll be able to close out the series at home Tuesday of next week. Winslow scored 10 points in the first frame. It’s a hard pill to swallow to bench a player making almost $24 million this season, but that might be Miami’s only chance to win.
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The Sixers finally gained some separation at the outset of the fourth, going up 10.
