The two teams meet in Miami Thursday at 7 p.m. ET in Game 3.
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Winslow, Whiteside, Simmons and Ilyasova all had four fouls. Miami was smart about who to stick with and not let Simmons find. The amount of struggle the Sixers went through is quite a journey to prosperity.
He scored 17 points, dished out 14 assists, and had nine rebounds. Embiid was fitted for a protective mask and cleared from the NBA’s concussion protocol, but he was still ruled out of a Game 2 in which the Heat bounced back from a lopsided opening loss in which it appeared that Philadelphia might easily take the series even without its star center.
The Heat not only tied their East Conference first round playoff series at 1-1, but put an end to Philadelphia’s 17-game winning streak. In 2013, Wade’s Heat swept Redick’s Bucks, and none of the four games were even close. In these compact minutes he can settle the group with his championship level experience and add a little bit of a calm for some of our young guys.
“There is a gratitude that I have, we have”. He started with the Heat, followed by Boston, then a picture of him hugging Cleveland’s LeBron James, and ending with Embiid looking at Golden State’s Draymond Green.
The Heat controlled much of the contest, before the Sixers made a run in the fourth quarter.
Philly missed some open 3-pointers, but Miami’s physical defense deserves credit for disrupting shooters.
“If it was my decision, I would play, but I can’t get back out on the court if I don’t have the OK from them”, said Embiid, who averaged 22.9 points, 11.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 63 games in the regular season. Covington and J.J. Redick combined to shoot 2 of 16.
The first quarter showcased the incredible balance and shooting skill of Marco Belinelli and the continued pinpoint ball movement that has turned the Sixers offense from middling to groundbreaking during the regular season. He made his first six shots of the game. But to have any announcement on Game 3, that’s not gonna happen, because we don’t know.
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Philadelphia was 7-of-35 from three-point territory and shot just 42.1 percent overall in playing their second straight playoff game without injured center Joel Embiid. However, with pressure on Simmons those passes just did not work the same way as Game 1. The Sixers’ shot selection was also questionable, especially as they tried to cap off their comeback. When Wade was in the offense is much simpler, but when he’s hitting his midrange shots – he was 7-of-9 between the paint and the arc – he’s nearly impossible to stop. On their next possession, Simmons finished a fast break with a dunk and the Heat advantage was sliced to 93-87. Ben Simmons fell a rebound shy of a triple-double (17p, 14a, 9r) while Dario Saric contributed with 20 points and six rebounds.
