By Mike Vorkunov, Eric Koreen and Tobias Bass
A tale of two halves and excellent bench play earned the Philadelphia 76ers the No. 7 seed as they held on to beat the Miami Heat 105-104 in their play-in game Wednesday, preparing to face the New York Knicks on Saturday.
With the loss, the Heat will face the Chicago Bulls or Atlanta Hawks on Friday in a winner-take-all game for the final NBA playoff spot.
Nicolas Batum had a monster game coming off the bench with a season record with 20 points and five rebounds. Joel Embiid led all scorers with 23 points on 6-of-17 shooting along with 15 rebounds and five assists.
The 76ers went into halftime down 51-39 and were constantly booed by the Philly faithful as they recorded 12 turnovers in the first half, with Miami scoring 17 points on them. Their struggles hinged on Miami’s zone defense, as eight of Philly’s 12 turnovers came against the zone.
To start the second half, Philadelphia started to get more defensive and lean on their bench, and Miami had very few answers. They kept the game close thanks to the heroics of Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, but the 76ers’ momentum was too much to overcome. Philadelphia’s bench scored 36 points and Batum made a crucial block on Herro late in the fourth quarter to seal the game.
What this victory means for Philadelphia
The Sixers didn’t just win their Play-In Tournament game, they won the one that matters. This puts them in the playoffs as the No. 7 seed, which is huge because it allows them to avoid the Celtics in the first round. The Knicks will undoubtedly be a tough matchup, but it’s not the Celtics, who were the undisputed heavyweights during the regular season. They can take the train to New York and back for about two weeks in what could be a coin-flip first-round matchup.
It was a big comeback for the Sixers. They discovered the Heat in real time. Nothing sums it up like Embiid, who struggled early then took over late. His clutch buckets and huge assist to Kelly Oubre Jr. late in the fourth quarter helped seal the victory. — Mike Vorkunov, NBA and Basketball Editor
Can Miami host another Cinderella race?
The Heat had the 28th-highest kill in the league this year, a major warning sign about the team’s ability to execute throughout a slow-paced playoff game. Miami built a 12-point lead thanks to tricky zone defense that flummoxed the 76ers and created easy chances in transition. Once Philadelphia adjusted, Miami simply couldn’t generate enough scoring. Other than Herro, Miami had virtually no offensive creation, which allowed Philadelphia to overtake them in the end.
The Heat will decide the winner of tonight’s game between the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks on Friday night in Miami, with the winner facing the Boston Celtics in the first round. However, Jimmy Butler appeared to be injured late in the first quarter when Oubre fouled him in transition, and Terry Rozier, the speedy guard acquired in January for Kyle Lowry, missed five straight games due to injury. from a neck injury. Butler barely moved during some late Miami possessions, shooting 5 of 18 for the night. Butler said after the game that he would have an MRI on his knee Thursday, adding that he was extremely limited as the game went on and felt like he hurt the Heat more than he did. he hadn’t helped him. If Butler is compromised and Rozier is unavailable, the Heat are going to need some magic to make the playoffs.
— Eric Koreen, Raptors writerRequired reading
(Photo: Jesse D. Garrabrant/Getty Images)