Sixers Looked Sluggish Without Harden in Loss to the Heat
By Dylan MacKinnon
The Sixers looked Sluggish in 99-82 loss to the Heat. It was an all-around ugly night for the Sixers, who launched 3 after 3, but never got them to fall. Nearly 50% of their shot attempts were from deep, but they converted on only 7 of those deep balls. The Sixers faced the Heat without James Harden, who sat for scheduled rest. And those two issues clearly took its toll on the team tonight as they struggled to get going. It was also the second game of a back-to-back.
Like with the Knicks and vs the Cavs, the Sixers got off to a slow start tonight. They finished the first half shooting just 16 of 38 (33.3%) from the field, and at one point it looked like it would be worse than that. Before a 7 of 8 stretch in the middle of the 2nd quarter, they were 5-30 from the field. The Sixers still found themselves down 14 at the half. But it could have been far worse.
Early in the second, it was once again Maxey who spurred the start of a comeback. His 7 pts cut the lead to just 5. And 5 would eventually be what the Heats lead at the end of 3. But the team still struggled from deep. Outside Maxey and Green, who were 3-6 and 2-3 at that point, the team was shooting 1-19 from deep.
The Sixers could not hold on though. The 4th quarter got away from them, and the Heat eventually win by double digits anyway. The team struggled to get the ball inside, and even when they got open shots the ball was clanging off the rim.
Korkmaz and Thybulle combined for 2 pts in 42 minutes. Embiid shot 4-15 from the field but was a perfect 14-14 from the FT line. Harris scored only 16 in Harden’s absence. The Sixers managed to score only 14 pts in both the first and final quarters tonight. It just was not their night. To sum it up, The Sixers looked sluggish.
The loss drops them to 39-24. They are now 3 games behind the Heat. They get a day off and then home to play the Bulls, where they will battle to hold onto the 2 seed.
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