The Miami Heat got off to a slow start Monday evening, but a second-half surge powered them past the Philadelphia 76ers 106-89 inside Kaseya Center.
Miami outscored Philadelphia by 20 in the second half, including posting its best third quarter of the season, amassing 35 points to Philadelphia’s 16. It was, by far, the Heat’s most effective quarter of the night. And it was led by Tyler Herro, who scored 16 of his 18 points in the frame.
From the opening tip, Jimmy Butler, returning from a sprained ankle after a four-game absence, looked engaged on both ends of the floor. Butler secured his first double-double of the season, tallying 30 points and 10 rebounds on 8-of-12 shooting and 13-of-13 from the free-throw line.
Duncan Robinson had 13 points while Dru Smith had his most productive game of the season, scoring 10 points with six rebounds, three assists and three steals in 25 minutes off the bench in Terry Rozier’s absence.
Miami still struggled shooting in the paint during the first half, but it was a better collective sum than Sunday’s night game against Indiana, where it shot just 37.8 percent. On Monday, Miami knocked down 53.7 percent of its attempts in the paint (22-41), including 18-of-28 around the rim against a hobbled Joel Embiid and Andre Drummond.
Rookie Jared McCain, drafted one spot behind Miami’s Kel’el Ware in the 2024 NBA Draft, led the 76ers with 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting and 4-of-9 from beyond the arc. He also hauled in four boards with four assists and two steals across 37 minutes. Embiid was limited to just 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists in 31 minutes, while Paul George posted 18 points on 5-of-13 shooting with six rebounds, five assists and three steals.
In his return to Kaseya Center, Caleb Martin tallied 12 points with a pair of corner near-foot-on-the-line 3s in 29 minutes, adding five rebounds.
Spoelstra ultimately stuck with the hot hands in the second half after going 11 deep in the first half, trying to find any answers to the 76ers’ hot start. Miami’s defensive disposition wasn’t consistently good, but it held Philadelphia to just 32.4 percent from the floor after halftime and 3-of-16 from 3-point range (18.8 percent).
The Heat will now have a five-day break before hosting the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday. Rest up, everyone!
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That was a fun game. My man Drusky was out there ballin!
In the big picture, this doesn’t tell us much. Bam is still struggling to put the ball in the basket. Jimmy and Tyler can look good in spurts but can’t control an entire game. The role players look fine.
In the end, if you look at the playoff teams in the East (after the Celts and Cavs), its the Knicks, Magic, Pacers, Hawks, and somehow the Bulls and Pistons are up there. Those are the teams the Heat have to beat if they want a good playoff seed. Right now, the Heat are something like 2-5 against those teams. They gotta be better against the teams that matter if they want to be good.
Although I will say, after the past two offseasons, it is really fun to watch the Heat spank teams like the Sixers and Bucks and say, “who cares, those teams stink”. It’s as if winning the offseason means nothing. I think I remember someone around here having a saying about that…
Give credit where credit is due. The guys were down 19 in the second quarter and close to being blown TF out…but they never quit fighting and never gave up! This was truly a team effort.
What is so frustrating about the Heat is that one minute the team looks like a million dollars and the next it looks like a million pesos. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Dru Smith looks good enough to start. He’s a very good playmaker and a good defensive player. Tonight he had 10 points on 4-7 shots/2-4 from 3pt range, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Like Jovic, Rozier may be feeling a lot of self-imposed pressure. It might be good to start Smith and bring Rozier off the bench with Jovic, Jaquez, Love, etc.
Burks’ emergence as a three point shooter, rebounder and at least an average defender, may make Robinson expendable, sooner than later.
Herro is definitely playing like an all-star. If he, Bam and Butler can play at elite levels, then the Heat’s biggest need is another scorer/rebounder/interior defender. If Ware is not part of this year’s rotational plans, Miami should consider trading for a player that meets the team’s interior defensive/rebounding and scoring needs.
If Riley is not willing to pull the trigger on a trade or multiple trades to make the team more competitive/a contender, maybe he will consider trades to make the team worse, in exchange for young players and draft picks. This in-between wishful thing approach sucks! I bet Houston, Golden State and other teams would be willing to enter a bidding war to get Butler while his stock is high. Same with Robinson.
nobody wants dunc if they did hed be on another team.burks is a better player than dunc bams lucky dru and burks sparked the heat he was terrible.played great vs indiana.right now dru is a better player than terry hes got young legs terrys past his prime.jimmy picks and chooses when to play at a high level.herro keeps this up hes going to all star game.jjj is a 2 way baller hh to a lesser degree.a healthy heat team with another banger to go with bam can be a top 4 team in east.but we are to small like u say
Hopefully we find out soon if Robinson is tradeable. He is averaging 10 ppg in 20 minutes with a 38.9% 3 point shooting average. He is a career 39.8% 3 point shooter. There must be some NBA team that could use him. Several contending teams have horrible team 3 point averages. For example, Orlando’s team average is 30.6% (30th). Houston is 28th at 32.8%. Note: Miami’s is #3 in NBA at 38.4%.
There are some with different opinions, like this NBA writer, similar to what you point out.
“One potential trade candidate with “high” value, as Matt Moore of Action Networkposits, is Duncan Robinson.
The trade value I would put on Duncan Robinson at this point is HIGH.
Robinson scored 20 points in 31 minutes off the bench in Miami’s win over Indiana on Sunday. He’s on the hook for $19.4 million this season and $19.9 million in 2025-26. That’s a steep number at first glance, but the NBA’s rising cap ceiling puts some of these once-egregious contracts in a more favorable context. Robinson’s skill set ought to be valued around the league; he’s a deadeye shooter and relentless off-ball mover. He’s easy to plug into any group offensively, and the benefits of his floor-spacing are immense.
If the Heat want to dump cap space, Robinson could intrigue a number of contenders. If the Heat want to level up with more star talent, Robinson’s salary is a nifty tool in any trade. Don’t be shocked if we hear his name more in the months ahead.”
(also, since his contract only has a partial guarantee for next season, it may make his contract more palatable for a suitor)
I don’t see any reason to trade Duncan. he’s one of the best 3-point shooters in the NBA and has been creating off the dribble and to get buckets and create assists.
The only player on this team I want to see traded is Jimmy. Preferably to the Rockets for a couple of young guys and a vet.
I’m neither for nor against trading Duncan. I posted that quote because there are those who think Duncan has no value. As the writer, and SunMan, point out, there are definitely teams that could utilize his skill set.
sixers 2 10 one of the worse teams minus maxey crippled joel not a quality win but a win.need a w vs ny bost cleve for quality win
yeah but the Sixers have a great GM and win every offseason. I thougt the Heat were supposed to be jealous of teams like the sixers?