Heat have work cut out vs. surging Sixers (Apr 20, 2018)
MIAMI -- Philadelphia 76ers reserve guard Justin Anderson scored six points on Thursday, but he played a major role nonetheless in a 128-108 playoff win over the Miami Heat.
It was Anderson who worked on the psyche of teammate Joel Embiid, the 76ers' All-Star center who returned after missing 10 straight games because of a concussion and left-eye injury.
"Justin was hyping me up on the bench, telling me I'm one of the best players in the league and that I have to take over," said Embiid, who wore a mask during the game. "I liked that."
Embiid, with that added boost of confidence, produced 23 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks in 30 minutes. He missed his first five shots from the floor and then made five of his next six, including three 3-pointers.
In addition, Embiid made 10 of 15 free throws, wrapping up his highly successful NBA playoff debut.
On Saturday afternoon, the teams will meet again at AmericanAirlines Arena in a first-round series the Heat trails 2-1.
Certainly, the Heat will try to corral Embiid, but Miami gave its own star center, Hassan Whiteside, just 13 minutes on Thursday, in part because of foul trouble.
Whiteside produced just five points, two rebounds and one block. He made his only shots from the field, but his four fouls helped to keep him off the court.
"I want to get more minutes," said Whiteside, who led the NBA with 3.7 blocks in 2015-2016 and with 14.1 rebounds last season. "Even with the fouls, I could've been out there. I would not have fouled out."
This season, Whiteside is averaging 14.0 points, 11.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocks. But, on average, his minutes per game are down seven minutes from last season and even more in the playoffs.
Whiteside said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra "wants me to just be in a corner and set picks."
Spoelstra, meanwhile, said "it's part of my job to figure out how he can get to his strengths and make an impact on defense and rebounding."
Aside from the two centers, the other big story line in this series revolves around the 76ers, a young team that won 18 of its past 19 games. After years of horrendous records amid a major teardown and rebuild effort, the 76ers have looked like the best team in the league during the past month.
They didn't just beat the Heat on Thursday -- they ran them over, making 18 of 34 3-pointers (52.9 percent). They also shot 50.6 percent overall and were plus-eight on rebounds and plus-14 on paint points.
Ben Simmons, the 76ers' star point guard, nearly had a triple-double with 19 points, a game-high 12 rebounds and seven assists.
JJ Redick, one of the top shooters in the league, scored just 10 points, but 76ers teammates Dario Saric and Marco Belinelli each scored 21 points and each hit four 3-pointers to help the offense flow.
Miami was led by 23 points and eight assists from point guard Goran Dragic. Heat reserve forward Justise Winslow scored a season-high 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. But Miami's top three shooting guards -- Tyler Johnson, Dwyane Wade and Wayne Ellington -- combined for just 21 points.
The game's biggest factor was Embiid, who had been listed as unlikely to play until Thursday afternoon, when he was cleared by doctors.
Embiid had a 7-0 run in the fourth quarter, which continued a trend. In Philadelphia's two wins in this series, they have outscored the Heat by 31 and 21 points, respectively.
Anderson said Embiid has been a team player throughout.
"One of the things (Embiid) told me during (Thursday's) game was to tell Coach that he didn't want any plays run for him," Anderson said. "He just wanted to play within the scheme."
