The Philadelphia 76ers, with Nicolas Batum as an unexpected hero, defeated the Miami Heat 105-104 this Wednesday with a lot of suffering in the East play-in and will face the New York Knicks in the first round of the playoff. Joel Embiid’s men reacted after the break after a terrible first half and, as seventh in the East, they will uncork the playoff on Saturday against the Knicks (second) who are one of the toughest, most physical and sharpest teams in the NBA .
For their part, the Heat (eighth and finalists in 2023) will have one last shot against the winner of the match between the Chicago Bulls (ninth) and the Atlanta Hawks (tenth). The winner of that match will take the last place in the playoff and will face the powerful Boston Celtics (first).
At 35 years old and arriving in Philadelphia almost on the rebound due to the transfer of James Harden, Batum dazzled with 20 points (17 of them in the second half) with a fantastic 6 of 10 in triples (7 of 12 in field goals). To put his wonderful performance in context, the Frenchman had averaged 5.3 points per game during the regular season. Tonight he also added 5 rebounds and was instrumental in defense for the Sixers to come back in the game.
The Sixers had reached the play-in with eight straight wins and after having recovered Embiid from his injury, still far from his best level. Last season’s MVP scored 23 points and 15 rebounds against Miami and was key in the fourth quarter with 11 points.
The game was a street fight of fights in every play, rusty attacks, suffocating defenses and treacherous daggers in every divided ball. Without Terry Rozier and Duncan Robinson, the Heat turned to Tyler Herro (25 points and 9 assists). Jimmy Butler (19 points and 5 assists), after a bad fall in the first quarter, played practically limping the rest of the game and his status for Friday’s duel, which will be played in Miami, is unknown. Mexican Jaime Jáquez Jr. contributed 15 points and 5 rebounds.
Sixers breakdown and redemption
The start was promising for Philadelphia, especially with the key face-off between Embiid and Bam Adebayo as the Heat center accumulated two fouls in five minutes. In addition, Kyle Lowry, very motivated against his former Miami teammates, brought the intensity with a 9-2 start.
However, Erik Spoelstra’s Heat thrive in the face of adversity: the worse things look, the more dangerous they seem. They didn’t have to invent anything extraordinary, since a zone defense was enough to completely change the pace of the match. Unlike Miami, the Sixers fell apart at the smallest obstacle.
The visiting pieces began to fall into place. Butler, always in his element in the postseason, began to bite on every play (10 points at halftime); Kevin Love and Jáquez Jr. took the reins of a very productive bench (21 points); and Miami’s defense caused no less than 11 turnovers from its rivals. The image of the Sixers, unable to decipher Miami’s zone defense and totally impotent in attack, was painful, so much so that the boos of their fans did not take long to appear.
After an even first quarter (22-23)two consecutive triples by Herro and Caleb Martin gave the Heat the maximum advantage (+14) and the intermission was reached with a score of 51-39. Since Adebayo’s second foul (6.55 in the first quarter), the Sixers only scored 30 points in 19 minutes of play. Embiid concluded the first half with 10 points (2 of 8 shooting) and his team showed a horrendous failure with 32.6% in field goals and 16.7% in triples (3 of 18).
The Sixers seemed so frustrated and desperate that just a couple of sparks – a triple by Batum plus a basket in transition by Buddy Hield – were enough for them to see the game differently (53-59 with 6.14 on the clock). The local defense increased several points of intensity and Batum was essential in containing an already physically depleted Butler in a game of enormous attrition in each possession. Hield (7 points in the third quarter) and Batum (9) shone in Philadelphia’s offense, but the Heat went ahead into the final quarter driven by a triple in the final seconds by Jáquez Jr. (69-74). The best example of the awakening of Nick Nurse’s team was that in the third quarter they scored 30 points when they had scored 39 in the entire first half.
The trend continued against the Heat, now very fragile in both baskets. Embiid tied the game and an amazing Batum chained two triples to put the Sixers ahead for the first time since the opening quarter (82-78 with 8.11 to go). With Butler missing due to his obvious and worrying physical problems, Herro assumed responsibility for the Heat. The response in Philadelphia came from Embiid and the confrontation reached an explosive outcome (96-96 with 1.30 to go). Two plays that were decisive benefited the Sixers. First it was Embiid, who, after receiving a two for one, found Kelly Oubre Jr. for him to score an additional basket. And then Batum rounded off his splendid night by blocking a triple by Herro, which opened the way for the Sixers to close a nerve-wracking victory from free throws, but one that is worth a ticket to the playoff.
Butler’s possible injury
The Miami Heat, who on Friday will have the last option to enter the East playoff, They fear that Jimmy Butler has a knee injury. As reported by The Athletic, Butler, who was injured this Wednesday in the first quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers, is going to have an MRI to examine what could be a ligament injury in his knee. “He got a lot stiff in the second half. He was able to move a little even in the second quarter but as the second half progressed it began to limit him a little more,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra noted in a press conference. “But we’ll see. We have no idea right now. We’ll see when we’re back in Miami,” he added.
2024-04-18 04:10:28
#Batum #leads #Sixers #victory #Heat
