The Sixers were blown out by the Heat Tuesday night, 137-106 in Miami. Here’s a look back at how the game unfolded in our live blog.
Check out all of our postgame coverage from Keith Pompey in Miami at inquirer.com/sixers.
It’s finally over
For yet another night, that was awful. Here’s what Keith Pompey has to say about it:
A stat we haven’t mentioned yet
You probably just saw it on TV, and it’s worth mentioning here: the Heat have committed -- or the Sixers have forced -- just one turnover tonight.
Heat 119, Sixers 94, 5:18 4th, and Ben Simmons just got hit with a flagrant 1 foul for shoving Miami’s Duncan Robinson off the ball.
End of the third quarter
Miami leads 97-77.
Joel Embiid has 22, Ben Simmons and Mike Scott have 14 each, and Jimmy Butler has 38 (and 7 rebounds and 3 steals).
The Sixers as a team are 24-for-60 from the field and 10-for-30 from three-point range. Mike Scott is the best perimiter shooter tonight, 4-for-6.
This night will be out of its misery soon. Even broadcaster NBC Sports Philadelphia’s social media person is fed up.
Joel Embiid banged up again
This time it looked like he was in some real pain after he got sandwiched between Goran Dragic and Jimmy Butler with 2:49 to go in the third quarter, and Dragic ran into Embiid’s left hand.
Then Embiid went to the line and hit two free throws.
It really didn’t look good, but what do I know.
Heat 88, Sixers 72, now 2:10 left in the third.
Miami suffers two injuries
Meyers Leonard had what looked like an ugly left ankle injury, and has yet to be officially diagnosed. Tyler Herro has soreness in his right foot and won’t return.
Not that it has mattered too much so far. Miami leads 75-61 with 6:35 to go in the 3rd quarter.
Heat open half on big run
Miami now leads 71-57 with 8:41 to go in the third quarter.
Ben Simmons is guarding Jimmy Butler, and it’s not working. Butler is up to 31 points on 11-of-17 shooting, including a three just now that Simmons sagged off of.
Joel Embiid banged up
At the start of the third quarter, Embiid took a whack to his injured and very wrapped left hand. He’s still in the game, but doesn’t look great.
Meanwhile, if you haven’t been watching on TV, here’s a taste of Jimmy Butler torching the Sixers in the first half:
Halftime
Heat 56, Sixers 52.
I said early on it was better than Saturday, and obviously that’s a low bar.
It’s still better than Saturday... sort of. But it’s also still a low bar.
Joel Embiid has 14 points on 5-for-10 shooting, and 9 rebounds. Ben Simmons has 11, 7 of which have come at the free throw line. He’s 2-for-4 from the field. Al Horford is just 1-for-2.
Across the floor, Jimmy Butler is torching the 76ers’ defense. He has 23 points on 8-for-14 shooting.
You think he enjoys beating his old team?
» READ MORE: As NBA trade deadline nears, Sixers’ Brett Brown coaching ‘with blinkers on’
Another rough night for Tobias Harris
After shooting just 4-for-12 in Saturday’s loss to the Celtics, Harris is just 1-for-6 so far tonight.
The game is tied at 35-35 with 6:58 to go in the second quarter.
End of the first quarter
Heat 30, Sixers 26. Miami closed the frame on a 10-2 run.
Joel Embiid hasn’t scored since his early 11-point outburst. Ben Simmons is 1-for-3 from the field, including a missed three-point attempt.
Okay, Matisse Thybulle
He had a nice three-pointer, then a few moments later this big block on Miami’s Tyler Herro:
This is better
Sixers 17, Heat 14, 6:00 1st. Joel Embiid is 5-for-6 from the field, including a three-pointer just now.
That’s more like it.
Brett Brown worried about Miami’s shooters
“They hae just bouncy, dangerous, multiple three point shooters,” 76ers coach Brett Brown said in an interview on TV before the game. “You do your scouting report, and there’s probably like six guys you’d better know where they are. ... We have a very real difficult game, a competitive game, and we hope to get back on the winning side of it all.”
And he wasn’t exactly peppy in saying that.
Tonight’s starters
For the Sixers: Ben Simmons, Shake Milton, Tobias Harris, Al Horford and Joel Embiid.
For the Heat: Kendrick Nunn, Duncan Robinson, Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Meyers Leonard
The betting info: Miami is a 3-point favorite, with an over-under of 212.
TV and radio details
If you’re looking to watch or listen to the game while following along here, the local TV broadcast is on NBC Sports Philadelphia, and there’s national coverage on NBA TV. The local radio call is on 97.5 The Fanatic.
Pregame reading
There’s a lot of good stuff to check out today.
— Our beat reporter Keith Pompey writes that Brett Brown is coaching ‘with blinkers on’ at the moment, trying to block out distractions as the NBA trade deadline approaches. Tonight’s game is the last game before the deadline, by the way.
— Josh Richardson misses his fifth straight game tonight, but as Keith reports, Richardson is making progress in his recovery from a strained left hamstring.
— Some stats on tonight’s game from Keith, including that the Sixers have lost 9 of their last 11 road games.
— Keith asks what’s wrong with Joel Embiid.
— As Keith reports, Brown is getting worried about the state of his team: “Right now, we’re not equipped to go into the playoffs,” the Sixers’ coach says.
— Marc Narducci looks at how the Heat and the Raptors match up with the 76ers heading toward the trade deadline.
— In the latest Off The Dribble newsletter, Marc analyzes the Sixers’ lack of physical play Saturday night in Boston.
— Marc’s latest NBA power rankings.
— I saved the biggest item for last: columnist Marcus Hayes asks whether the Sixers should trade Ben Simmons.
Welcome
Hello again, friends. Jonathan Tannenwald here. The last Sixers game we live-blogged went so well that we’re back again.
Our beat reporter Keith Pompey is down in Miami at the game, and I’m in the Inquirer newsroom watching from afar like all of you. While you’re here, give Keith a follow on Twitter and Instagram.
And by the way, today is the last day of the Inquirer’s big subscription sale: 54 weeks of digital access for $54. Check it out here.