Sixers cannot overcome slow start in 99-82 loss at Miami Heat

MIAMI — As Bam Adebayo grabbed an offensive rebound and laid the ball back in, Doc Rivers pointed to Isaiah Joe to signal it was time to begin subbing out the 76ers’ starters. Then the coach forced a stop in play by calling timeout with Joe waiting at the scorer’s table, after Caleb Martin knocked down a three-pointer to increase the Miami Heat’s lead to 17 points with about a minute remaining.

The Sixers’ post-All-Star break ride, fueled by the James Harden bump, stalled without the former MVP on the floor Saturday night. Harden did not play because of hamstring injury management, and his new team could not overcome a slow start in a 99-82 loss to the Heat at FTX Arena.

“This was one of those slugfest games that they made enough shots, and we didn’t,” Rivers said. “It’s that simple of a game.”

The loss came on the second night of a challenging home-road back-to-back set, and snapped the Sixers’ five-game winning streak that propelled them to second place in the Eastern Conference. And the schedule does not let up from here.

The Sixers (39-24) next play the Chicago Bulls, who enter Sunday in fourth place but just half a game back of the Sixers, on Monday, before a highly anticipated showdown against the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday. Then after a March 13 game at lowly Orlando, the Sixers host Denver, visit Cleveland, and then play a rare home back-to-back against Toronto and Miami.

The Sixers shot just 34.1% from the floor, including 7-of-41 from three-point range, often an indicator of fatigue following Friday’s down-to-the-wire win over the Cavaliers and late-night travel to Miami. Yet they nearly staged another second-half comeback, which had become their hallmark this past week.

After a Tyrese Maxey baseline floater and a goaltending called on a Maxey layup attempt cut the Heat’s advantage to 58-53, former Sixer Jimmy Butler (21 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds) scored or assisted on every point of Miami’s 10-4 run to extend the lead back to 68-57 with less than four minutes remaining in the frame.

Then when a Danny Green three-pointer and two free throws by Joel Embiid in the third quarter’s final minute got the Sixers within 70-68, Gabe Vincent (who was the starting point guard in place of star Kyle Lowry, who missed the game for personal reasons) answered with a three-pointer right before the buzzer. Max Stus followed with a deep shot to make the score 76-68.

Then Tyler Herro became the Heat’s offensive sparkplug. He connected on two consecutive buckets, then dished to Vincent for a three-pointer, and found Adebayo free under the basket for a dunk that gave Miami an 87-78 lead with less than seven minutes to play. A Strus three-pointer pushed that advantage back to double digits, at 92-80, with less than three minutes to play.

The Sixers dug themselves a deep hole in the first half for the third consecutive game, with poor shooting to blame. But without Harden’s scoring firepower and playmaking prowess, they could not complete the rally this time.

They missed 17 of their first 21 shots to fall behind 22-11 late in the first quarter. Those numbers dipped even further, to 5-of-29 from the floor, including 2-of-15 from three-point range to propel the Heat to a 40-20 lead.

The Sixers responded with a 12-2 run that sliced that advantage in half at 42-32 with about five minutes to play in the second quarter, but then they essentially traded baskets for the rest of the half before buckets by Vincent and Herro gave Miami a 54-40 lead at the break.

Harden’s absence surely contributed to the early sputters. That forced Furkan Korkmaz into the starting lineup, where he went 1-of-5 from the floor for two points. Maxey had another strong performance (17 points on 7-of-14 shooting) while sliding back to the starting point guard. Shake Milton (4 points, 2 assists) was the backup at that spot and at times shared the floor with Maxey. Joe also got nine minutes. The Sixers closed the first quarter with an unconventional lineup of Milton, Joe, Green, Georges Niang and Embiid.

“That’s just another ballhandler, another playmaker, another scorer, and another guy to where we can put guys in the right spot when they’re running zone,” Maxey said. “He makes the game easier for anybody, including myself. …

“But there’s no excuses. [Harden] didn’t play. He hasn’t been with us all year. We’ve won games like this. We’ve just got to go out there and get the job done no matter who’s on the court. That’s been our motto all year.”

Earlier this week, the Sixers trailed by 16 points against the Knicks and 21 against the Cavaliers before rallying in the second half.

Without Harden, the Sixers’ level of success was largely predicated on their MVP contender. Embiid went just 4-of-15 from the floor but went 14-of-14 from the line to generate 22 points, and totaled nine of his 15 rebounds in the first quarter.

It was Embiid’s worst shooting percentage in a game since going 4-of-16 in a home win over Orlando in late November, which was his second outing following a significant bout with COVID-19. On Saturday, the Heat regularly swarmed Embiid with double- and triple-teams all the way out to the three-point line, and the Sixers’ poor shooting could not make the Heat pay for the times they fronted the big man.

“I haven’t been playing well,” Embiid said. “I need to pick it back up. I’m still trying to figure it out and find myself, how to be dominant and all that stuff. … When I go through this type of time, I really just try to be aggressive.”

Added Rivers: “Miami’s toughness hurt us tonight. They denied us. They got into our bodies. You should never allow a guy to deny you a catch, and I bet that happened 10 times tonight. They played in our airspace. We didn’t play in theirs.”

The center started 2-of-10 from the floor, and only got to the free-throw line twice in the first half. But he helped anchor the Sixers’ rally attempt, when they outscored the Heat, 28-19, in the third quarter

Embiid started the period with a jumper. He converted an impressive off-balance finish at the rim before hitting the floor to reduce the Heat’s lead to 68-61 with less than two minutes to play. And he went 8-of-8 from the free-throw line, including using the rip-through move on Vincent to get to the stripe in the period’s last minute.

Following a brilliant three-month stretch that propelled Embiid to the front of the race for the sport’s top individual award, he has looked a tad mortal on the offensive end the past two games. Friday night, the Cavaliers’ length and zone defense frustrated him early on, before the Sixers’ second-half turnaround.

Embiid also acknowledged he has struggled with the touch on his shot the past couple of games because the hand injury he has been playing through continues to bother him.

“It’s the time to build toward the playoffs,” Embiid said. “I really got to keep pushing. We don’t have that luxury [of me missing games]. We’re trying to fight for seeding and we’re really trying to get the No. 1 seed. So got to keep pushing. Over time, hopefully it gets better. But I’m not worried about it.”

Rivers again emphasized that he does not “overdo” regular-season games. When asked about the fact that Saturday’s matchup could go a long way toward determining the East’s No. 1 seed, the coach added “I’d love it, but I don’t even think about it, literally, one second at all.”

But Saturday’s loss did come with implications. It pushed the Sixers to three games behind the Heat, and just a half game ahead of the Milwaukee/Chicago jumble in the third and fourth spots. Now, the Sixers must beat the Heat at home on March 21 to tie the regular-season series 2-2, which could also matter in a tight playoff race.

Embiid, meanwhile, said he pays attention to the standings “quite a bit” at this point of the season.

“Every single night, I watch games and study whatever I need to study,” he said. “But it’s tough. You lose a game or you lose two games in a row, you can find yourself in the sixth seed. You win two in a row, you can find yourself in the second seed.

“That’s why, every single day, you need to try to get better and try to win every single game.”