Joel Embiid Gives Sixers Life in Game 3 vs. Miami Heat

The Philadelphia 76ers got off to a difficult start in their second-round series against the Miami Heat. As the Sixers faced the Heat on the road down in South

The Philadelphia 76ers got off to a difficult start in their second-round series against the Miami Heat. As the Sixers faced the Heat on the road down in South Beach in Games 1 and 2, they failed to make it back to South Philly with a win.

In the first two games, the Sixers missed their five-time All-Star center Joel Embiid. As Embiid suffered an orbital fracture and a concussion during Philly’s Game 6 win over the Toronto Raptors last week, he wasn’t cleared to travel with the team earlier this week.

Although the Sixers initially hoped Embiid could return to the floor for Game 3, the team ruled him out on Thursday night. However, his status changed once he was cleared out of the NBA’s concussion protocol. After participating in a morning shootaround session on Friday, the Sixers upgraded Embiid from out to doubtful.

A couple of hours before the Sixers and the Heat tipped off Game 3, 76ers head coach Doc Rivers deemed Embiid a game-time decision. After going through his pregame warmup, Embiid felt comfortable enough to make his series debut on Friday night.

In the first ten minutes of action, Embiid’s presence gave the 76ers a huge boost. The big man shot 2-4 from the field and 3-4 from the free-throw line to collect seven points. His presence on the defensive end was clear as well as the Heat scored just 17 points while shooting 35-percent from the field in the first quarter of action.

Both teams struggled on the offensive end in the second quarter, resulting in a low-scoring first half. By halftime, the Sixers had a favorable 41-34 lead. Once again, Sixers guard James Harden controlled the offense well as he scored 15 points in his first 19 minutes on the court.

The Heat battled back, coming out in the second half. As they shot much better from the field and from beyond the arc, Miami dropped 31 points in the third quarter. However, the Sixers continued producing for themselves as well as they drained 56-percent of their shots for 27 points.

Going into the fourth quarter, the game was tight as the Sixers had a three-point lead after being up by as much as 14 points. When the fourth quarter approached, they did all they could to put the game away without falling behind.

Tyrese Maxey was a perfect 5-5 from the field, nailing four of his shots from deep in his final ten minutes in the game. He scored 14 of Philadelphia’s 31 fourth-quarter points. Meanwhile, the Heat hit on just three of their 15 field goal attempts, putting up 14 points. 

The Sixers struggled to garner and maintain leads in the first two outings of the series, but Friday night’s matchup was a different story. With a convincing 99-79 victory, the Sixers picked up their first win of the second round. Now, they trail 1-2 as they look forward to getting an opportunity to even the score on Sunday when Game 4 rolls around. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.