There are five things to remember from the Miami Heat’s play-in game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night at Wells Fargo Center, which ended in a 105-104 defeat. The Heat will now play the Chicago Bulls in a win-or-go-home play-in game on Friday at 7 p.m. in Miami:
The Heat have struggled this season due to injuries and ineffective offense. On Wednesday, the Heat lost a crucial game due to such problems once again.
Erik Spoelstra, the coach of the Heat, remarked, “You just treasure the opportunity to compete in these types of games.” “Coming up short is a source of disappointment, frustration, and all the feelings that go along with it.”
With 104 points from 42.2 percent of the field and 14 of 39 (35.9 percent) from three-point range, the Heat ended the game down.
On Wednesday, the Heat’s offensive rating of only 111.8 points per 100 possessions would have placed them 24th out of all teams during the regular season. Miami’s season-ending 13-26 record was due to their offensive rating, which was less than 112 points scored per 100 possessions.
On Wednesday, injuries also had an effect on the Heat. Due to a neck ailment, Miami’s starting guard Terry Rozier was not available for the game, while three-point shooter Duncan Robinson was also sidelined as he heals from a back problem.
Then, towards the end of the first quarter, Heat standout Jimmy Butler injured his right knee. He played 40 minutes in the game on Wednesday, but his injury kept him from playing the whole game. As a result, he ended with only 19 points on 5 of 18 shots from the field.
The Heat’s defense helped them stay in the game in spite of everything.
The 76ers’ offense was totally out of control in the first half due to the Heat’s dominant zone defense.
The 76ers only scored 39 points on 33.3 percent shooting from the field and 3-of-18 (16.7 percent) from three-point range in the first two quarters, giving up 12 turnovers. This was due to the Heat using their zone for the most of the first half.
The Heat led by as many as 14 points in the first half and led 51-39 at the half thanks to their outstanding defensive performance.
However, the 76ers went on a 26-15 run in the third quarter to narrow a 13-point lead to two points when they finally stopped creating mistakes and began to make baskets. After scoring only 39 points in the first half, the 76ers finished the third quarter with a total of 30 points.
The 76ers’ momentum continued into the fourth quarter, as they led the Heat by four points with 8:11 remaining after starting the frame on a 13-4 run. Philadelphia has not held a lead since the latter part of the first quarter.
Nicolas Batum, who ignited Philadelphia’s attack in the second half by going 5 of 8 from three-point range, was a major factor in the 76ers comeback.
However, the Heat persisted, rallying to take the lead and led by three points with 3:09 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The remainder of the game was back and forth between the Heat and 76ers.
Joel Embiid’s three-pointer with 2:33 left gave the 76ers a two-point advantage.
Tyler Herro’s three-pointer with 2:15 remaining gave the Heat a one-point advantage.
Embiid’s three-point and-one play with 1:47 left gave the 76ers a two-point advantage.
Haywood Highsmith’s made basket with 1:30 left put the Heat up 96 points.
But then came the game-winning run from the 76ers.
Kelly Oubre Jr. opened things up with a and-one layup assisted by Embiid. Oubre made the free throw with 36 seconds left to complete the three-point play and give the 76ers a three-point advantage.
Batum blocked Herro’s three-point try with 26.2 seconds remaining on the Heat’s next possession, which ended up being Miami’s most important of the game.
The Heat had to foul 76ers player Tyrese Maxey in order to stop the clock after the team secured the defensive rebound after the block. With 24.7 seconds remaining, Maxey made both of his free throws to increase the 76ers’ advantage to five.
The 76ers held on for the comeback victory in the fourth quarter despite the Heat’s persistent fouling to extend the game. They hit a perfect 12 of 12 from the foul line.
“We just couldn’t finish it off, but everyone who played and everyone who was on the bench gave it their all,” Spoelstra said.
For the 76ers, Embiid finished with 23 points on 6-of-17 shooting from the field, 2 of 4 three-point shooting, 9 of 10 foul line shooting, 15 rebounds, and five assists.
For the 76ers, Maxey contributed 19 points on 6-of-16 shooting from the field, 1 of-6 three-point shooting, and 6 of-6 foul line shooting.
However, Batum came up huge for Philadelphia in the closing minutes as the 76ers’ star pair of Embiid and Maxey combined to shoot an ineffective 12 of 33 from the field.
At the conclusion of the game, Batum scored 20 points for the 76ers on 6-of-10 three-point shooting from the bench.
Herro led the Heat in scoring with 25 points, although he was just 9 of 27 from the field and 4 of 14 from three. Of his 25 points, 16 came from the field in the fourth quarter.
Adebayo led the Heat in scoring with 10 points (5 of 9 from the floor) and 12 rebounds in the end.
Despite spraining his right knee late in the first quarter on Wednesday, Butler was able to complete the game; however, the news following the game was not positive.
Kevin Love fired a full-court inbounds ball to Butler, who then faked a pump to get Oubre off his feet. However, when he fell, Oubre seemed to land on Butler’s right leg.
With 1.5 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Butler was called for a foul by the referees on Oubre’s play. Butler sat on the floor for a few minutes, clutching his right knee, before hobbling back to the Heat’s bench.
The good news for the Heat is that Butler continued to play in the game and returned to the floor to attempt the two free shots.
The bad news for the Heat is that Butler’s knee discomfort was evident for the remainder of the game. In 40 minutes, he finished with 19 points on 5-of-18 shooting from the field, four rebounds, five assists, and five steals.
Spoelstra said, “I just really appreciate him for that competitive spirit and for putting himself out there.” “In the second half, it really stiffened up on him.”
Butler said he would get an MRI on Thursday after donning a protective sleeve over his right knee while getting dressed in the Heat’s locker room after the game. After leaving the venue with a limp, he took a plane back to Miami.
Before his MRI on Thursday, Butler said after Wednesday’s game, “I hope that I’m fine.” “Hopefully, I’ll be able to move when I wake up tomorrow. However, I am unable to confirm that at this time.
Even if the MRI results are negative, Butler will only have one day off in between games to recover his damaged knee, thus it is now uncertain whether he will play in Friday’s elimination game.
Even though Wednesday’s play-in game wasn’t the playoffs, it gave fans a preview of what the Heat’s postseason lineup would look like.
The only two Heat players out on Wednesday were Rozier (neck spasms) and Josh Richardson (shoulder surgery). Miami started the playoffs with the starting lineup they finished the regular season with: Herro, Caleb Martin, Butler, Nikola Jovic, and Adebayo. For the Heat, it was the sixth consecutive game that this group had begun.
The Heat finished their nine-man rotation with Love, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Haywood Highsmith, and Delon Wright coming off the bench.
Jaquez, who spent 22 minutes off the Heat’s bench, was a bright light for the team, finishing with 15 points, five rebounds, and two assists.
Despite being available, Duncan Robinson did not play for the Heat.
Robinson was in uniform and eligible for Wednesday’s play-in game, having missed the last four regular season games due to a nagging back condition known as left facet syndrome.
However, Robinson did not play since it seemed like his back was still a problem.
Robinson, who had started in all 17 of his previous games, suffered a back ailment last month that kept him out of action for five games at first, then allowed him to play in five more before the injury kept him out of action for the last four games of the regular season.
It’s positive that Robinson was dressed and judged ready on Wednesday, but it’s concerning that he was unable to participate in the game.
When questioned about not playing Robinson on Wednesday, Spoelstra said, “Every day that he gets, he’s going to make progress and that’s really what it was.” He hasn’t got such possibilities since we don’t have a lot of time for build up. But after we get in Miami, we’ll see how he feels. He’ll feel better with each stage, I believe, and we’ll go from there.
The Heat will have one more chance to attempt to qualify for the postseason.
The Heat had two opportunities to win one game to secure a playoff berth as the eighth-place club in the East going into the play-in round.
Consequently, the Heat will play the Chicago Bulls at Kaseya Center on Friday at 7 p.m. on ESPN in a game that is win-or-go-home. In an elimination play-in game on Wednesday night, the Bulls upset the Atlanta Hawks 131-116 to secure a spot in Friday’s Miami matchup.
The winner of Friday’s play-in game secures the East’s No. 8 playoff seed and faces the top-seeded Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. Game 1 of that series is scheduled for this Sunday at TD Garden at 1 p.m. The Heat and Bulls play-in game loser is out and will not be participating in the playoffs at all.
“We’ll take the difficult route,” Spoelstra said. “At this time, that simply has to be the route.”
In the same exact scenario, the Heat and Bulls faced off in the play-in tournament of the previous season. After winning the match 102-91, the Heat were ranked eighth in the East heading into the playoffs, and they would embark on an unlikely journey to the NBA Finals.
The Heat did not make the playoffs the previous year, which occurred in 2018–19.
With their victory on Wednesday, the 76ers secured the seventh-seeded playoff spot in the East as well as a first-round series against the second-seeded New York Knicks.
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