Late blunders on the boards doom Sixers in a loss to the Miami Heat

Now, the 76ers will have five days to rest. And it couldn’t come at a better time for the banged-up team.

The Sixers’ Wednesday opponent, the Miami Heat, is also in desperate need of a break.

Both teams were both shells of themselves in a 109-104 loss for the Sixers that was far from the NBA standard. The Sixers (32-22) had seven standard contract players available and the Heat (30-25) only suited up 10.

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But while both rosters were thin, this turned out to be a competitive matchup played down to the wire.

Tyrese Maxey hit a pair of free throws to put the Sixers within three points (107-104) with 28.8 seconds left. After Heat coach Eric Spoelstra called a timeout, Miami ran time off the clock. Tyler Herro missed a pull-up jumper that Bam Adebayo rebounded on a missed boxout, closing out the Sixers’ chances. The All-Star center was fouled by Buddy Hield and made a pair of free throws to give the Heat a five-point advantage with 7.3 seconds left.

The Sixers turned the ball over on the final possession.

That final possession was key, but an inability to stop Herro, Adebayo, and Duncan Robinson led to the setback.

Herro finished with 23 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. Adebayo added 23 points, 14 rebounds, and two steals. Robinson had 20 points on 7-for-11 shooting, making 5-of-7 three-pointers.

The Heat had an 11-6 edge in offensive rebounds and a 20-9 advantage on second-chance points. Their last two baskets came on second-chance points.

Maxey and Hield led the Sixers.

Maxey paired a game-high 30 points with seven assists, and six rebounds. The All-Star point guard went to the locker room in the third quarter with what appeared to be ankle injury after Paul Reed stepped on his foot. He returned later in the quarter.

“He twisted his ankle,” coach Nick Nurse said. “He went and got it retaped and came back.”

Hield had another solid performance as a Sixer. He finished with 22 points and a season-high 10 assists. The shooting guard made 5 of 11 three-pointers in his fourth game in Philly.

Meanwhile, Reed posted his fourth double-double of the season with 18 points and 12 rebounds, and two-way rookie Ricky Council IV had 13 points and four rebounds.

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The fact that both squads had their full allotment of three two-way players was a good thing for Sixers two-way players Council IV and Terquavion Smith, who both received rotation minutes.

The Sixers were depleted because of injuries. Normal starters Joel Embiid (left knee meniscus surgery), Tobias Harris (left hip impingement), De’Anthony Melton (lumbar spine stress response) and Nico Batum (strained left hamstring). They were also without key reserve Robert Covington (left knee bone bruise). Kyle Lowry, who signed with the team Tuesday, is out as he works on conditioning.

Meanwhile, the Heat’s Josh Richardson (dislocated right shoulder), Terry Rozier (sprained right knee) and Dru Smith (right knee surgery) were sidelined with injury. Jimmy Butler has missed multiple games for a death in his family.

The Sixers will have some time off for All-Star Weekend before returning to practice on Tuesday and hosting the New York Knicks on Feb. 22. This will be the first of three matchups in a 20-game stretch between the Atlantic Division rivals. The Knicks defeated the Sixers, 128-92, on Jan. 5 in South Philly.