Tyrese Maxey's historic night and Joel Embiid's resilience powered the Philadelphia 76ers, while Tyler Herro's spark wasn't enough for the Miami Heat's close loss.
The Miami Heat finished a mini two-game road trip winless after a 124-117 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night. Despite a couple of strong performances, the results came from the execution down the stretch, plus a couple of runs.
Key takeaways from the game:
Sixers; Stardom performance: Tyrese Maxey continues to improve year after year, in the midst of another career season. The two-time All-Star finished with a strong performance against the Heat: 28 points on 34.6 percent shooting, including five three-pointers made, 11 assists, five steals, and a block in 38 minutes.
Afterwards, the 25-year-old became the organization's new leader in career three-pointers made with 887 and counting, surpassing Hall of Famer Allen Iverson.
Heat; Redemption performance: After an inefficient game in Tuesday night's loss against the Milwaukee Bucks, Tyler Herro showed poise and bounced back. He finished with 25 points on 50 percent shooting, including four three-pointers made, four rebounds, seven assists, and a steal in 32 minutes off the bench.
Herro came through in clutch moments, but it wasn't enough to pull through with a victory.
Heat; Third quarter surge: The third quarter has been an area of struggles for the Heat for a strong portion of the regular season. They faced a 16-point deficit before halftime. However, throughout the first half of the third quarter, the team sparked a 24-7 run.
Herro and Bam Adebayo led the charge, combining for five three-pointers made in that span.
Sixers; MVP resilience: Despite not playing 100 percent healthy, Joel Embiid delivered with a strong performance to follow Maxey. He finished with 26 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, and a steal in 31 minutes.
The 31-year-old was visually grabbing the right side of his ribs. Embiid has played in 33 of 59 regular-season games thus far.
As the Sixers currently have a firm grip on the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference, the health of the former MVP is critical for playoff success.
The Heat's record falls to 31-29, eighth in the Eastern Conference standings. The opportunities to climb get thinner game by game. Also, first-time All-Star Norman Powell did not play in the second half. He was listed as questionable with a right groin strain before tipoff, which proved to remain an issue.
The 32-year-old has been the Heat's most consistent offensive player this season. They will return to South Florida and host a three-game homestand, Saturday against the Houston Rockets, followed by two matchups against the Brooklyn Nets.
Join the Community! Don't miss out on our ROUNDTABLE community and the latest news! It's completely free to join. Share your thoughts, engage with our RoundTable writers, and chat with fellow members.
Make sure to check out the Heat Wave Podcast, part of the RoundTable Sports Network. Beat writer Anthony Aguirre and co-host Anthony Pasciolla provide weekly Miami Heat coverage. Leave a like, comment your thoughts on the team, and subscribe.
Download the free Roundtable APP, and stay even more connected!
More Miami Heat News: