Multiple Sixers praise Joel Embiid for dominant effort in win over Heat

The Philadelphia 76ers were in dire straits again on Tuesday night. Sure, they welcomed Ben Simmons back to the lineup, but they were still down Tobias Harris, Seth Curry, Shake Milton, and others as they went to battle with the equally as shorthanded Miami Heat.

With Simmons having a tough night and the Heat getting big games out of Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson as well as Gabe Vincent, the Sixers were down by 13 in the third quarter.

Then, Joel Embiid had enough and he went to work. He scored 20 points in the third quarter alone to help Philadelphia take the lead entering the fourth and he then drilled a jumper to force overtime and he scored 11 points in the overtime period to lead the way to 45 points in a 137-134 win.

“I thought, just his will, he willed this game for us tonight and so did other guys,” said coach Doc Rivers. “Mike Scott and Danny Green, Mike Scott just got off the injury list and he played 46 minutes. Danny Green is 1,000 years old, and he played 49 minutes, so those are big contributions for us.”

Embiid only had 10 points at halftime and the Sixers were down big against a very shorthanded Heat team. Sure, they had Herro and Robinson who were big pieces of their run to the NBA Finals in 2020, but Miami was without the likes of Jimmy Butler and Goran Dragic, and Bam Adebayo.

“It all started in the first half,” said Embiid. “It just felt like I was going through the motions. I wasn’t getting the ball as much. I was just trying to run the offense and in that third quarter being 12 by one point, that’s when I felt like I needed to take matters into my own hands. I just decided to be aggressive.”

Philadelphia then had a solid lead in the fourth quarter before Herro led Miami back and the Heat looked like they were going to steal this one. Embiid then saved the day–with help from rookie Isaiah Joe–and then his big overtime period helped avoid a fourth straight loss.

“It was needed,” the big fella added. “We needed it tonight. We lost three games in a row. Our mentality should always be, we should never lose two games. We lost three in a row There was no chance we were going down and losing four in a row. So whatever, I had to do, whatever my teammates had to do, we did it and we got the win.”

Embiid caught the eye of his veteran teammate Dwight Howard who believes that this can be an every night occurrence for him.

“I’m proud of Joel how he’s handled himself this year,” said Howard. “I’m a big believer in him. I think he has the potential to be one of the greatest big men to ever play basketball. It’s really on him and how bad he wants it and I just want to be there for him being here for him…he showed tonight what he’s capable of and what he can do for his whole career.”

The Sixers will have a rematch with the Heat on Thursday in Philadelphia.