By: Kylan Watson

The Philadelphia 76ers took on the Miami Heat tonight, looking to rebound after losing to the Atlanta Hawks yesterday. After shooting only 17.9 percent from three. Philly opened the flood gates against Miami, and they used their hot shooting from beyond the arc and a prime time scoring effort from center Joel Embiid to beat the Heat 137-134.

It was looking good early in the first quarter for the Sixers. They got guard/forward Ben Simmons back.  His passing ability unlocked the shooting of guard/forward Danny Green (29-points) and forward Mike Scott (16-points). Both combined for 13 of the Sixers 18 three-pointers tonight. They needed their scoring output from to keep the Heat at bay early in the game. By the end of the first quarter Philly was up by 11.

On Danny Green, “Danny Green is a thousand years-old, and he played 49-minutes. Those are big contributions for us,” said Head Coach Doc Rivers.

However, basketball is a game of runs and even though the Heat were shorthanded they were able to use a put the team on his back level performance from guard Tyler “I ain’t never scared“ Herro who scored 34-points. He was the main scoring cog for Miami, and his ability to hit shots, helped them erase an 11-point lead by Philly. By half-time the Heat were up by seven and were threatening to run away with it.

The Sixers had no answer for the shooting of Herro and guard Duncan Robinson. They made some second half adjustments, to make it a little more difficult for them. But the Sixers could not hit the broadside of the barn early in the third, and then prime-time Embiid showed up. He personally scored 25 of his 45-points in the second half. He personally outscored 20-15 in the third quarter. His scoring kept them in the game. When his team needed it most late in the fourth quarter, he hit the game-tying shot. Then powered the team to an overtime victory over the Heat.

On Embiid’s performance, “It’s who he is, and we tell him that every night. When we put him in the middle of the floor, I thought (Miami) really struggled. He willed this game for us tonight, and so did other guys,” said Rivers.

For the Sixers this might be a staple victory on the young season. Despite the fact they are still missing guard Seth Curry, forward Tobias Harris, and guard Shake Milton all lost because of the league’s Covid-19 protocols. They were still able to beat a determined Heat team after playing yesterday.

They now will play the final-game of this two-game series on Thursday and will look to get more people involved on both sides of the ball.