Tyrese Maxey’s double-double propels Sixers past Heat in battle of undermanned squads

No one knows how the 76ers and Miami Heat match up when both teams are healthy.

That’s because reigning MVP Joel Embiid and the Heat’s five-time All-Star Jimmy Butler have not played in any of this season’s three meetings. On Monday, the Sixers were also without Tobias Harris, while Miami was missing Tyler Herro. Heat guard Duncan Robinson also left the game in third quarter with back discomfort.

So even though the tilt was nationally televised on ESPN, it was far from a barometer game.

All it basically determined was that the Sixers can hold off Bam Adebayo and the Heat role players. That’s who the Sixers defeated, 98-91, in a much-anticipated Eastern Conference game at the Wells Fargo Center.

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The Sixers (38-30) moved into sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings, one game ahead of the eighth-place Heat (37-31), with 14 games remaining. Miami holds a 2-1 advantage in the season series.

“It’s good, and I think we have to play them, again,” coach Nick Nurse said of the Sixers facing the Heat in Miami on April 4. “So it still gives us a chance to at least level up the tiebreaker or maybe possibly win the tiebreaker if we can go down there and get them, again. ... The win is the most important thing, a couple in a row.”

This victory comes after the Sixers defeated the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday.

Philly broke Monday’s game open with a 20-2 run from the final seconds of the first half until the 7-minute, 7-second mark of the third quarter to take a commanding, 68-51 cushion. However, the Heat tied the game at 85 on Caleb Martin’s dunk with 6:54 left in the fourth quarter. Buddy Hield responded with a three-pointer on ensuing possession to put the Sixers back up three points.

Then after Miami pulled within one point, a Kyle Lowry three-pointer and Kelly Oubre Jr. layup on consecutive possessions gave the Sixers a 93-87 lead. Lowry also responded with a put-back after the Heat pulled within four points. This time, his basket made it a 95-89 game with 1:36 to play.

Monday marked the first time Lowry faced the Heat since they traded him to the Charlotte Hornets on Jan. 23. After being waived by the Hornets on Feb. 11, the former Cardinal Dougherty and Villanova standout signed with the Sixers on Feb. 13.

Lowry finished with 16 points on 6-for-12 shooting along with four rebounds and one assist. The six-time All-Star had a scare in the third quarter. Unable to slow down while going after a loose ball, Lowry leaped over the scorers’ table in the direction of Sixers public address announcer Matt Cord. When Cord moved out of the way, Lowry crashed hard on the floor. After getting up, the North Philly native resumed playing.

“When you get to a certain age, you don’t have no brakes,” said Lowry, who turns 38 next Monday. “So I couldn’t stop myself. ... I’m all good.”

Lowry said there was no extra juice in facing his former team. He stopped in the visitors’ locker room to chat with his former teammates following the game.

“The juice was that we understood that was a big game for the standings,” Lowry said. “We needed that win for the standing purposes. I love and admire those guys so much, and I still root for them except when I’m playing them.

“But there was no added juice. There was just, try to go out there and try to win the game for our team because of the standings. It’s going to be a tight race. We have to do what we do and hold it down while we can and try to take advantage of the opportunities that we have, and win as many games as we possibly can.”

Tyrese Maxey, once again, showed why he’s the front-runner for the NBA’s Most Improved Player. The Sixers All-Star guard finished with a game-high 30 points along with 10 assists and eight rebounds. Seventeen of his points came in the first quarter.

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Oubre added 22 points and career-high tying four blocks. Adebayo and Terry Rozier paced the Heat with 20 points each.

When the NBA schedule came out, Embiid and Butler were expected to be the headliners of Monday’s game.

However, Monday’s contest marked the 22nd consecutive game that Embiid missed after tearing the meniscus in his left knee. It was the 34th game overall that he’s missed. Meanwhile, Butler has missed 21 games with various injuries. He was out Monday with a right foot contusion.

He had treatment and protocols, according to Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.

“He just wasn’t ready today,” Spoelstra said. “We’ll just continue to treat him. He’ll be day to day.”

Meanwhile, Herro hasn’t played since Feb. 23 with right foot tendinitis.

The Heat were also without Kevin Love (bruised right heel) and Nikola Jovic (strained right hamstring) on Monday.

For the Sixers, Embiid is on target to return the first or second week in April.

Nurse said Embiid participated in on-court activities on Monday in a non-team setting. This comes one day after the reigning MVP took part in Sunday’s practice.

When asked, Nurse wouldn’t say what Embiid did specifically on the court Monday.

“He’s doing his rehab and on-court work,” Nurse said.

Is the on-court work one-on-one? Low-level guys?

“Not one-on-one,” Nurse would only say.

» READ MORE: Joel Embiid returns to Sixers practice for first time since injuring left knee in January

Nor would he say how many games he thinks Embiid has to play to be ready for the playoffs.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I think it’s a different answer for everybody. I think he kind of rounds back into shape and rhythm pretty quickly. I think I said that before that there’s been times where I thought he was a long way away from being ready to play 36, 38 minutes and he would get there pretty quickly right after one night out. ...

“So I mean, listen, I think, Obviously, the more games we have, the better. But I also think that we want to get to a point that he’s as healthy as he can become [for] playoff or play-in time.”

Harris missed his second game with a sprained right ankle. Nurse said he could be out for a couple more days. Meanwhile, De’Anthony Melton (spine) and Robert Covington (right knee bone bruise) remained sidelined.

The Heat started former Sixer Haywood Highsmith, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Bam Adebayo, Duncan Robinson, and Terry Rozier for the second straight night. On Sunday against the Detroit Pistons, Miami set a franchise record with its 32nd different starting lineup.

Spoelstra thinks there’s a benefit to having that many lineups.

“A lot of guys get to step up and earn the opportunity to impact winning,” he said. “The more players that can be engaged in a season and impact wins, that helps. Our versatility is super important for our team, so you feel like you can handle the weather in some of these games.”

» READ MORE: Sixers-Heat takeaways: Kyle Lowry’s crankiness; Tyrese Maxey’s milestone; identity without Joel Embiid

The Sixers will begin a four-game West Coast trip on Wednesday against the Phoenix Suns. The Suns (39-29) are coming off a 140-129 setback against the Milwaukee Bucks. It was Phoenix’s third loss in five games. The Sixers defeated the Suns, 112-100, on Nov. 4 at home. Oubre had 25 points and Harris added 18 points and 10 rebounds in the victory. Maxey finished with 22 points and 10 assists on his 23rd birthday. Fourteen-time All-Star Kevin Durant had a game-high 31 points for the Suns. Phoenix stars Devin Booker and Bradley Beal both missed that game.