Danny Green aims to carry Game 3 shooting through rest of Sixers’ series vs. Heat

Danny Green took the blame for the 76ers’ Game 2 loss to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals, saying, “I didn’t do my job” when he shot 1-for-9 from three-point range.

The veteran wing did a complete about-face in Friday’s Game 3 victory. He shot 7-of-9 from deep to match a career playoff high for three-point makes, and finished with 21 points.

Green’s secret: Spending Thursday binging the latest season of television series “Ozark.” More broadly, the three-time champion understood that his body needed to rest between Games 2 and 3.

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“[I] took my mind off basketball, relaxed, kicked it with the dogs,” Green said. “And then we came in for film and shootaround [Friday] morning, and you’re just refocused.”

After a trying season interrupted by multiple injuries, Green has put up some of his best performances during the past month. Six of his 14 double-digit scoring outings entering Sunday have come since April 7. He has moved back into the starting lineup, partially because Matisse Thybulle’s unvaccinated status prevented him from playing in Toronto. Entering Sunday, Green was shooting 37.3% on 7.4 three-point attempts per game during the playoffs.

“Sometimes [the shot] feels great [going into a game], and you’ll miss them,” Green said following Sunday’s shootaround. “Sometimes, it feels terrible and you’ll make them. Sometimes, it feels good and you’ll make some and you’ll miss some. It’s just the life of a basketball player and a shooter.

“The biggest thing is mentally being confident. That’s where it starts. … I just try to stick to the fundamentals, stay locked in and try to keep rhythm and go in confidently, thinking that the next one’s going in and taking the next one to make it.”

With MVP finalist Joel Embiid’s return from an orbital fracture and concussion for Friday’s Game 3, Sixers coach Doc Rivers kept Paul Reed as the backup center and did not play DeAndre Jordan, who started Games 1 and 2 with negative-to-mixed results.

That “wasn’t much of a decision for us,” Rivers said. That shifted the Sixers back to the sub pattern they used during their first-round series against the Raptors. Rivers added that Jordan understood his role would change when Embiid came back, and that Jordan has been a veteran resource from the bench while Reed gets critical playoff minutes for the first time in his career.

» READ MORE: Following Joel Embiid’s return, Sixers aim to even Eastern Conference semifinal against Heat

“D.J. knows why we have him here and what he’s doing,” Rivers said. “That was easy for us. He knew, without Joel, you’re probably going to play. We need size. With Joel, you’re probably not gonna play, but be ready. …

“He’s in Paul’s ear the whole game. That’s why Paul sits next to him most of the time and talks to him … because he’s seen all those things.”

Reed finished Game 3 with two points and four rebounds in 11 minutes.

Miami backup center Dewayne Dedmon did not play in Sunday’s Game 4 because of an illness that the team described as a head cold.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said during his pregame news conference that he does not expect Dedmon to miss more than one game, but that he will be day-to-day. Spoelstra said Dedmon’s COVID test came back negative.

Dedmon has averaged 3.7 points and 2.7 rebounds in nine minutes through the series’ first three games.

Rivers said Dedmon’s absence will not impact how the Sixers distribute their center minutes. The coach added that, even before Dedmon was ruled out, he anticipated the Heat might deploy a smaller lineup against the Sixers’ second unit. Duncan Robinson, a career 43.5% three-point shooter who had played just 55 seconds in the series’ first three games, appears to be a likely candidate to fill that role.

The other Heat players who were listed as questionable — Tyler Herro (ankle sprain), Kyle Lowry (hamstring strain), Caleb Martin (ankle sprain), Max Strus (hamstring strain), P.J. Tucker (calf strain), and Gabe Vincent (knee irritation) — were all expected to play Sunday night, Spoelstra said.

Sixers forward Tobias Harris is one of 10 nominees for the NBA Cares Community Assist Award.

Per the NBA, Harris has donated more than $800,000 this season to nonprofits in Philadelphia and around the world “in an effort to continue to advocate educational equity for underserved children and families.” His funds contributed to initiatives to increase literacy competency in local schools, and helped build a library in Haiti.

Harris said his favorite outreach program this year was when he provided holiday gifts to area children. He also did all the shopping, including tracking down the ever-elusive Nintendo Switch.

» READ MORE: Sixers fined $50,000 for violating NBA’s injury reporting rules in Joel Embiid’s return

“I had to drive like 45 minutes … and they had like six of them,” Harris said Saturday. “And no other store had any of them, so I was like, ‘Man, give me them all real quick.’ So that was fun, just being on a mission to go get all the gifts for the kids and seeing the smiles on their faces.”

Harris was the October winner of the league’s monthly Community Assist award. His nomination for the season-long honor was announced during Friday’s Game 3 against Miami, which resulted in a standing ovation from the home crowd that has been less-than-kind to Harris at points this season.

“This was my heart,” Harris said, forming his hands into the shape over his chest, “and it was warm.”

The other nominees for the award are the Phoenix Suns’ Bismack Biyombo, the Los Angeles Clippers’ Robert Covington, the Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic, the Memphis Grizzlies’ Jaren Jackson Jr., the Milwaukee Bucks’ Brook Lopez, the Golden State Warriors’ Gary Payton II, the Indiana Pacers’ Ricky Rubio, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns, and the Atlanta Hawks’ Trae Young.