Heat Vs 76ers Breakdown

First half

A hard fought gritty first half ensued at the American Airlines Arena. The 76ers defense was extremely strong holding Jimmy Butler to only 4 points on 1-6 shooting. The length of the Sixers continues to be a problem scoring inside for Miami. A bright spot of the first half was Derrick Jones Jr who brought a spark off the bench.  Meyers Leonard played the most minutes he has all season in the first half. It was clear Kelly Olynk wasn’t matching up good against the physicality of Joel Embiid and Al Horford. Considering Miami was out rebounded, shot less free throws, made less threes, and Butler only having 4 points It is an encouraging sign to only be down five.

Second Half

Its incredible to see just how good Duncan Robinson has been. Duncan has been absolutely crucial to our offense but he needs to stay out of foul trouble in key situations. It won’t be talked about much either but in the last two matchups against Philadelphia Meyers Leonard has played outstanding defense. Miami took an edge in the third leading by as much as 10. The Sixers however stayed in the game off the bench effort of Trey Burke who sparked them early in the fourth. Late Philly looked for Embiid who finished the night with 35 points and was clutch down the stretch.

The play of the game happened with 12 seconds left as Philadelphia had a two point lead and Miami was looking for a steal. Butler poked the ball from behind Embiid and rookie sensation Tyler Herro ended up with it. He pulled up for a transition three with 6.9 seconds and buried it to give Miami a one point lead. Madness ensued thereafter as Jimmy Butler only hit one free throw after being fouled to extend the lead to two. On the last sequence Josh Richardson got fouled and sent to the line with a chance to tie the game. He missed the first and then missed the second on purpose only to have Ben Simmons soar in to tie the game with .6 left.

Overtime

The game went into overtime where the lead went back and fourth until the last possession. Butler who was guarded by Al Horford was fouled in the shooting motion. Jimmy hit one of the two free throws which gave Philadelphia a chance to win with 2.3 seconds left. They found Tobias Harris wide open off the inbound but his shot was off giving Miami the win.

Looking Forward

The Heat improve to 24-8 on the season and jumping Boston for second place In the East. They’re 15-1 record at home is best in the Nba and they are off to the third best start in franchise history. The Heat look to continue all the success from the homestand on Monday when they take on the Wizards in Washington.

If you enjoyed the breakdown of the Heat vs 76ers look forward to more reviews In the near future.

Follow me on Twitter at @EddieSantana2 for more great content!

Also, be sure to check out the Overtime Heroics Forums page here to join in the discussion! 

Come on over to our shop if you’d like to purchase some Overtime Heroics gear here!