First Half:
The Heat got out to a decent start as they went back and forth with the Sixers, but Philly wouldn’t wait around to quickly turn its made shots into a lead on a small run. Miami struggled to rack up stops early as Philly feasted on catch-and-shoot buckets going 9 for 11 from the field. Bam, Jovic, and Tyler all scored well to get the Heat back within two. Miami’s defense also clamped down on the Sixers, stunting their run by racking up multiple stops. Duncan continued shooting well as Kevin Love set him up to steal the lead.
Philly would sink a couple of buckets of their own leaving things tied headed into the second quarter. Buddy Hield continued to assault Miami offensively as he scored his third three of the night (he had 4 in the half) to start the quarter. On the other end, however, Jaime would go to work scoring multiple baseline drives from the dunker’s spot.
Jaime’s shot hasn’t been as good since his injury, but he’s a very smart player who is finding new ways to evolve and score. With six straight points from Jaime, the Heat tied things back up. Miami was not as efficient from three as last night shooting just 39%, but the ability to be versatile on offense kept things close. A lot of this was courtesy of Haywood Highsmith who drove to the bucket fearlessly and shot well from deep. Both Philly and Miami fought hard and things stayed close with Philly taking a two-point lead into the second half. Overall, Miami was okay from three and scored very well at the rim, but struggled mightily in the midrange.
Second Half:
Miami was cold to start the third, going scoreless for the first couple of minutes – but still managed to keep things close on some highlight reel buckets. Maxey would exit the game with an apparent injury leaving Philly shorthanded (he would return).
Miami’s offense was stagnant as it struggled to close the small gap, but not for lack of trying. The Heat were aggressive on defense, and that started to translate into some offensive buckets. With Duncan suddenly catching fire once again, the Heat tied things up and would eventually steal back the lead. With Miami on an 11-0 run, it looked to extend its lead but Philly wouldn’t go silently into the night taking back the lead, and later extending it on a Maxey drive. Not to gush over players on an opposing team, but man is Maxey ever fast. Kevin Love delivered some key minutes (and the 19th lead change of the night) for Miami as he drew charges, and hit key buckets. The Heat would enter the fourth quarter up one.
Buddy Hield sunk his fifth three of the night to start the fourth quarter, as Philly came out swinging with Maxey also doing work slashing to the rim. Tyler and Bam fought back on the other end to tie things up with some good looks. Highsmith and Duncan’s stellar three-point shooting continued as the Heat and Sixers spent most of the quarter going back and forth. With just over 5 minutes left in the game, the Heat would get its lead up to six but then struggle to score. With that Philly kept things uncomfortably close, until a well-timed Jaquez bunny. Maxey and Philly attempt a comeback attempt but with Herro, Jaime Bam, and Highsmith anchoring the offense down the stretch Miami would sneak out a win and on an exclamation point dagger.
Still, there were a lot of poor decisions that almost cost them the W. This is where you miss the veterans, with that being said I’ll never complain too much about a win especially when Miami is missing so much. A nice win before the All-Star Break.
Did Somebody noticed, that Miami is better on the road then at home.
15:12 against 15:13.
All that means is we’re probably gonna be a good road playoff team, just like last year through tough grit.
Some thoughts heading into the all-star break:
I bought league pass at the start of the season, and this year is the most regular season Heat basketball I’ve watched since I lived in my parents house in Florida twenty years ago. Back then, my mom would fall asleep on the couch while I stayed up late to watch the West Coast games. Now, I put my kids to bed and my wife falls asleep on the couch while I stay up late to watch the West Coast games.
It’s been great watching this team grow throughout the regular season. Talking to my friend the Sixers fan, he talks about how the team spends every game dumping the ball down into Embiid, or watching Maxey shoot, and winning as many games as possible. I’ve been having way more fun watching the Heat win fewer games but develop more players; guys like Cain and Jovic and Highsmith learn the NBA game, and guys like Duncan and J-Rich and Love expand their roles.
I can only remember feeling this way about a handful of Heat teams over the past few decades. The first year of Lowry/Butler. The third year of the Heatles. The OBW team. Winning matters, but it’s not just winning. This team has depth, and has chemistry, and they’re just a joy to watch. I don’t care if they win the title, I just hope they go deep into the playoffs, so this season can last a little longer.
I watched the vid recap of this game and also the bucks game. Just noticed and want to give (another) props to the Dunc yard dog. He made several difficult 3s in those games. Hand in face fading to the side. Awkward jump, unestablished stance. Also making plays other than 3s. Really made headway developing as a pro baller. Plus Heat wins when Dunc scores 20+ 🤯
Plus blocks, steals, and take charges.
Again….
🤯🤯🤯
One thing I noticed in the Milwaukie game – when the ball is moving and the passes are flowing, all of a sudden those 3-pointers start going down easy. Someone who is better at stats than me should check to see the Heat 3-point percentage in games when they have 30+ assists
Sorry Im getting back late, but In those 30+ assist games…they’re shooting 37.2 percent from beyond the arc.
Awesome video!
NBA Players explain why Jimmy Butler is BUILT DIFFERENT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2ef3OC0WZc
Step up, Killian Hayes!
Shoot your shot
Gallo to Bucks
Josh Jackson still available
Always
Its possible, that we get the team well rested and healthy (only JRich out) at the end of the all star weekend. what is the best way going forward?
Butler, Bam, Herro, Rosier will start. The only question is the PF position, where we have three options, in following order. Martin, Highsmith, Jovic.
Love and Robinson and JJJ will served as backups for Bam, Herro and Butler, which makes Jovic and Highsmith special assignment players.
I can see Jovic start against bigger teams, and Highsmits start if Martin will be bad.
Taking into account the Rozier injury on Sunday, it adds up to almost 2 weeks by the end of the All Star break. As he is week to week, hopefully we can get him back healthy a week or so after the break. That’d be great.
Hopefully, Butler and Rozier will be available during the upcoming 4 game road trip.
Rotation: Rozier, Herro, Butler, Martin, Bam, Jaquez, Robinson, Highsmith, Jovic, Love
I thought we played really hard and earned a well fought and very encouraging win. I love it when Ty makes those clutch baskets in crunch time, creating his own shot.
What a two game stretch to go in to the break with positive vibes. Let most guys rest and reset, including Jimmy. We’ll definitely be hearing noise on the buyout market as being reported that they need to avoid the 90 game combined for the two way players. Should be interesting.
In meantime, Goran sold out his farewell game tickets in 30 minutes… all 12.000 of them.
Damn.. I didn’t expect that.
Get this…Heat won 4 sets of back to backs so far this season. Neat. More pls.
we won, so I m happy. But ,man, it was frustrating at times.
Team is in solid position, could be top 5 before PO, capable to beat anyone in front, and lost to anyone in front.
The passing wasn’t as good tonight. The offense in general looked pretty disjointed, although they definitely had their moments. The defense looked good, especially in the second half. There were a couple times when I thought they were too young and too tired playing back-to-back on the road against Eastern Conference playoff teams. Credit to those boys for getting it done.
Also, a bit of a crash back down to earth for all of us in the Jovic fan-club on HHH. I still think he’s a great young prospect with a ton of potential, but there is a big difference between being a good player and being good every night. As much as I love Jovic, this is why Spo doesn’t trust him, and why he probably won’t see much playoff action, unless someone gets injured. I think he’ll be a key part of the rotation by next season, but I think he’s still a year away from being a reliable playoff guy.
On the flip side, shoutout to Tyler for outplaying Maxey, and coming up with some big buckets in the 4th quarter. Shoutout to Bam for dominating the paint. Shoutout to Duncan for shooting the lights out since the Celtics game. And shoutout to my two favorite dudes, Love and Jamie, for doing all the stuff that doesn’t show up in the stat sheet (speaking of which, I think we need to make up a stat called the “reverse assist” for guys that get open under the basket for an easy pass for an assist, and name it after Jamie Jaquez.
Last and least, shoutout to the G-League guys, Cain and Highsmith. Great energy, great defense. Send those guys to the Duncan Robinson school of 3-point shooting this offseason and hopefully they’ll be rotation guys a year from now.
I think you’re spot on about Jovic. He has such a nice skill set and size. He’s only 20 and still learning. He’ll have games like these – one outstanding followed by a stinker. It’s to be expected. He’ll be a rotation player by next season.
True, he is not yet a cut diamond but I’ll give him a pass tonight considering it was a bb against a well rested elite team.
Several times I thought I was watching the Heat playing against another version of the Heat in blue jersey . Without Embiid, the sixers looked very much like a Heat team; scoring in different ways and not through a particularly dominant player. No wonder it came down to a grind in the last few seconds. Apart from TOs and diminished 3 pts shooting, the ball distribution, players off the ball movement and transition defense have consistently improved in the past several games.
Go Heat, Go !
Thats the power of a good head coach like Nick Nurse for adjusting and organizing his players. if it was Doc Rivers, then the moment Embiid was injured, he will not know how to adjust and the Sixers will be a disorganize mess of a sinking ship.
Nick Nurse vs Eric Spoelstra is always a must watch match especially if the teams they are coaching is down a superstar.
Headscratcher Rivers got the allstar coaching slot but I guess that’s just for show. Yes Nurse vs Spo always a good game
Was not able to watch second half. We got the W! Yay! I thought Alondes Williams would get some pt guess not. Time to rest, recover and recharge. 9 days w/out Heat bb.
Another good win in a grind it out game. At the break, Miami is only 1/2 game (behind Indiana) out of 6th, 2.5 games (behind Philly) out of 5th and 3 games (behind New York) out of third. Not bad. Enjoy the time off everyone.
GO HEAT!!!
Yep. I think this has been the theme all season. The Heat could finish anywhere from 3-8, depending on how the last few weeks of the season shake out.
i forgot to add…LETS GO HEAT!
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big win, sadly pacers and magic won too.
looks like we’ll be chasing and jostling with these 2 teams for 6th seed the rest of the way
Yeah, I was closely 👀 at the scoreline of those 2 games too. I guess their fans will be doing the same with our games. Makes it the more interesting and an added suspense as the season goes.