Here are three takeaways as the Miami Heat were unable to defend home-court in Game 3 of their first round series against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Unfortunately for the Miami Heat, a return to the familiar confines of American Airlines Arena was not enough to overcome the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 3 of their first round playoff series.
With the Sixers repeating their Game 1 heroics in knocking down 18 shots from long range, the Heat were simply unable to keep pace, eventually succumbing 128-108.
Although they only trailed 96-94 at the end of three, a 32-14 blitz from the Sixers in the final period left the Heat flummoxed, and in the process placed the ever-important home-court advantage back in the Sixers’ hands.
The Heat were led by Goran Dragic with 23 points and eight assists, while third-year forward Justise Winslow impressed by posting 19 points and 10 rebounds in his 27 minutes off the bench.
For the Sixers, All-Star Joel Embiid returned to the court for the first time since March 28, and certainly made his presence felt in recording 23 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in 30 minutes of action. Also starring for the Sixers were rookie point guard Ben Simmons, who notched 19 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, while reserve guard Marco Belinelli was instrumental in scoring 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field.
With a short turnaround time for Game 4, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and his staff are going to have their work cut out for them if they intend to implement any major changes between now and Saturday.
With this in mind, here are three major takeaways from Game 3.