Opposed to his dolphin, Miami did not tremble at home. And even if the victory took time to take shape and that it was necessary to tear off to get rid of the rough defense of the Sixers, the men of Erik Spoelstra ended up finding the solution, by relying on the Herro-Butler pair (21 points each) and the contribution of a whole collective.
After suffering terribly against the iron defense of Floridians in the first quarter (22-14), the Sixers quickly plunged, falling under the bullets of snipers Tyler Herro and Max Strus (30-14), imitated in stride by Gabe Vincent and Caleb Martin (40-20).
The storm had just passed and Doc Rivers’ troops then tried to get back in the saddle under the impetus of the Maxey-Harris pair. Shake Milton brought his stone to the building with a service for Paul Millsap and a basket to reduce the gap by half (40-30). The Heat then did what was necessary to return to the locker room with a 14-point lead, through Jimmy Butler twice and then with the help of the Herro-Vincent tandem (54-40).
As expected, the tension rose a notch after the break, starting with a little slap neither seen nor known by Joel Embiid administered to Jimmy Butler with a key technique for the Cameroonian. The effect expected by this fault has in any case had the expected result since Philly has picked up in stride, again thanks to the contribution of the untenable Maxey (58-53).
The Sixers’ 2-3 zone defense continued to annoy the Heat despite the two exploits of Jimmy Butler followed by the two heroic floaters of… Tyler Herro (68-57). Insufficient, however, to get rid of a Philly team that managed to change the momentum of the game during this third quarter. So much so that after a lay-up then two throws from Joel Embiid and a 3-pointer from Danny Green, the Sixers were back at -2 (70-68).
Tyler Herro managed to give his people some air with a lay-up, an outside shot then two services for Gabe Vincent’s 3-pointer and Bam Adebayo’s dunk as “money time” approached. (87-78). The failures of Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris then spelled the end of Philly’s hopes, especially after the new dunk on the counterattack from Caleb Martin, and the 3-pointer from Max Strus (92-80).
Bam Adebayo under the circle and Max Strus from far then put an end to the suspense and Miami was able to celebrate a precious success, 99-82.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Speech to the defence. “The attack fills the halls, the defense wins titles”. In this match, the defense often took precedence over the rest. It was thanks to its iron defense that the Heat took the lead from the start. It is also thanks to its zone that Philadelphia was able to return to -2 at the very end of the third quarter. And if we can remember the “Herro Show” which of course helped make the difference, it was also on two interceptions which brought the dunk from Caleb Martin and the 3-pointer from Max Strus that Miami finished the job.
– L’absence de James Harden. Back-to-back requires, and because he is not fully recovered from his hamstring injury, James Harden was excused from the meeting. In his absence, we found the not necessarily appreciated face of this Philly team with a somewhat stereotyped game, like an uninspired Joel Embiid and the chronic clumsiness of Doc Rivers’ troops behind the arc (7 /41!)
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Tyler Herro. Decisive by his good choices repeated in the fourth quarter, scoring and passing when Philly got dangerously close to the score. It is no coincidence that Miami outclassed its opponent when he was on the field (+17). A rather very clean match on his part (21 points at 9/16 shooting, 7 rebounds and 3 assists), one more.
✅ The Martin-Vincent duo. Caleb Martin and Gabe Vincent are the symbol of the identity of the Heat, a team that does not let go! To top it off, the duo had set their sights and therefore became the X factor of this meeting, with 14 points at 5/7 shooting and 2 interceptions for the first, and 16 points at 6/8 shooting including 4/6 to 3-pointers. They also scored very important baskets in the final, not to mention their participation in the good defense of Floridians.
⛔ Joel Embiid. Deprived of his new alter-ego, the Cameroonian, who is also well taken by the Heat defense, has fallen back into his ways since his 14/14 in free throws barely conceals his nightmarish match in attack, at 4/15 in the shooting including 0/6 3-pointers for 22 total points and 14 rebounds. His two failed attempts behind the arc at the start of money-time ended the Sixers’ last hopes.
THE FOLLOWING
Miami (43-22) : the Heat host Houston on Monday night.
Philadelphia (39-24): Philadelphia will face another big shot in the Eastern Conference, at home this time, against the Bulls.
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