Sixers vs. Miami Heat takeaways: Lacking energy, Embiid still contributing, Jalen McDaniels comfortable

The 76ers lacked energy.

Yet Joel Embiid continued to put up numbers comparable to Sixers all-time greats. And Jalen McDaniels is getting more comfortable in the system.

Those three things stood out in the Sixers’ 129-101 Thursday night loss to the Miami Heat at the Wells Fargo Center.

If going through the motions was a person, you could have picked a number of the Sixers. Locked into the Eastern Conference third seed, the team had nothing to play for. And it showed.

The Sixers shot the ball well, knocking down 55.7% of their shots. They even shot 77.8% in the third quarter.

However, the best way to describe the Sixers’ perimeter defense was lackluster. The Heat drained 18 of 39 three-pointers and appeared to beat the Sixers to just about every loose ball. Miami outrebounded the Sixers, 42-32, and had a 10-3 offensive rebounding advantage.

» READ MORE: Sources: Joel Embiid won’t play against Atlanta Hawks on Friday

While a long shot, Miami (43-37) is still playing for the sixth seed. So the Heat came in with a sense of urgency.

“I wasn’t sure if I could sense [Miami’s] sense of urgency or our lack of urgency,” coach Doc Rivers said. “I wasn’t sure which one was which. Cleary, you knew they were going to come with everything they had. This was a tough game. A tough game even for me, before. Really struggled with playing guys at all. I really did. It was a tough one.”

While it’s easy to get complacent under the circumstances, the Sixers didn’t show the mental focus expected from a title contender.

“It’s not an excuse, like I said,” Embiid said of having nothing to play for. “When you’re on the court, you still have to compete. You have to try and win a game. Like I said, you still have to be able to compete.”

The six-time All-Star keeps adding to his MVP-contender résumé.

Embiid had 21 points on 9-for-13 shooting to go with six rebounds and two blocks. This was his NBA-best 49th game with at least 20 points on at least 50.0% shooting. It’s the most by a Sixer since Hall of Famer Charles Barkley had 49 such games during the 1990-91 season. Embiid did most of his damage in the first quarter, scoring 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting. He did not play in the fourth quarter.

The Sixers acquired McDaniels from the Charlotte Hornets right before the February trade deadline to be a contributing two-way player in the postseason.The reserve forward’s performance against the Heat gives the team confidence.

McDaniels finished with 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting, including going 2 of 5 on three-pointers. He also had a game-high four steals while playing 25 minutes, 27 seconds.

» READ MORE: Sixers locked into third seed

“He’s just getting more comfortable,” Rivers said. “That’s why we kept him out there. That was part of the plan: Let him burn as many minutes as he can, because he still doesn’t know all our stuff.”

McDaniels is still not comfortable in the Sixers’ zone defensive sets. He also had to get comfortable shooting the ball.

“And he can shoot it,” Rivers said of the 6-foot-9, 200-pounder. “He’s also probably our best cutter, because he’s so long. And you throw it to him in the paint, he knows what to do with the ball. He’s a solid basketball player.”

Best performance: This goes to Jimmy Butler. The former Sixer finished with a game-high 24 points to with six assists.

Worst performance: James Harden gets this one. The Sixers point guard had 14 points on 5-for-12 shooting, including missing 4 of 6 three-pointers. He also had three turnovers and a minus-14.

Best defensive performance: McDaniels gets this.

Worst statistic: This goes to the Sixers’ 17 turnovers.

Best statistic: This goes the Sixers shooting 77.8% in the third quarter.