Sixers blast Miami Heat, 119-96, without Joel Embiid to begin five-game road trip

Tyrese Maxey returned to the starting lineup and led all scorers with 27 points.

Published Mar. 1, 2023, 10:22 p.m. ET

MIAMI — A popular question has persisted for the 76ers: How can they survive the minutes when MVP contender Joel Embiid does not play?

Embiid never took the floor Wednesday night at Miami-Dade Arena, sitting out with left foot soreness during the Sixers’ stretch of six games in eight days.

Yet the Sixers found a way to win without their superstar, using a second-quarter onslaught to blow past the Heat, 119-96, and rebound from Monday’s home defeat against the opponent that knocked them out of last year’s playoffs.

“We just keep learning [how to play without Embiid],” coach Doc Rivers said. “Every night is a different night, because it’s a different opponent. We are a versatile, deep basketball team.”

The Sixers, who now are 9-4 this season when Embiid does not play, outscored the Heat, 37-15, during that decisive second quarter to flip a four-point deficit into a 20-point advantage. They held Miami to 5-of-19 shooting in the period by unleashing a defense that switched on screens at all five positions without a traditional center in the middle. On the other end of the floor, the Sixers did not commit a turnover and made seven three-pointers (on 11 shots) in the quarter.

Miami later got within 11 points when Gabe Vincent hit a jumper with just over four minutes to play in the third quarter before a 9-0 Sixers spurt, capped by an old-fashioned three-point play by Maxey, pushed their advantage back out to 20. The Sixers’ lead grew to 25 when Jalen McDaniels sank two free throws early in the fourth quarter.

Maxey led all scorers with 27 points and added seven assists and four rebounds, while James Harden finished with 23 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. Tobias Harris totaled 18 points, six rebounds, and five assists. The Sixers (40-21), the top free-throw shooting team in the league (83.5%), made all 22 of their foul shots.

Embiid, the NBA’s second-leading scorer, has dealt with his foot soreness for weeks but had not missed a game since Jan. 21 at the Sacramento Kings. The Sixers are on the front end of a back-to-back and will play Thursday at the Dallas Mavericks. After that, they will continue their road trip at the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, the Indiana Pacers on Monday, and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday.

Tucker, Reed man the middle

Without Embiid, P.J. Tucker started as a small-ball center in his first game back in Miami after playing for the Heat last season. He finished with five points on 2-of-6 shooting and three rebounds in 19 minutes.

Yet backup Paul Reed provided the biggest lift inside, totaling 16 points and a career-high 14 rebounds in an active 29 minutes featuring sequences when he ran the floor hard, out-jumped opponents for the ball, and converted second-effort opportunities with five offensive rebounds. Reed totaled 10 of those points and six of those rebounds before the break, helping fuel the 28-11 run that propelled the Sixers to a 62-49 lead.

“Honestly, coming into this game, I was taking it personal,” Reed said. “We lost to this team in the playoffs last year, and we lost to them the other night. So I really had a chip on my shoulder tonight and I really wanted to prove a point.

Rotations, rotations

With Tucker shifting to center, Maxey moved back into the starting lineup alongside Harden and De’Anthony Melton in the backcourt. Maxey scored 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting in both the first and third quarters, when he played all 12 minutes. He has led the Sixers in scoring in eight of the nine games when he played and Embiid was out, averaging 28.9 points in those outings.

Harden, meanwhile, scored 15 of his points while anchoring the unit of mostly reserves during the second-quarter scoring surge. Danuel House Jr. (six points, two rebounds), who has been out of the rotation for the better part of two months, was a surprising first sub. Shake Milton (12 points on 5-of-11 shooting) also provided a nice burst off the bench. Rivers said he particularly liked his team’s defensive length and athleticism while House, Reed, and McDaniels shared the floor.

“We did today what they did to us [on Monday],” Rivers said. “We pressured them up the floor the entire game. They started their offense tonight at 14 and 12 [seconds on the shot clock]. Tonight, we started our offense at 18 and 20 [seconds]. I thought that was the difference in the game overall.”

Stretch forward Georges Niang, meanwhile, was out of the rotation after playing only seven minutes in Monday’s loss to the Heat. Rivers said the Heat’s smaller size meant there was “really no one for Georges to guard.”