It’s safe to say that after the Philadelphia 76ers announced that both Joel Embiid and James Harden would be resting ahead of last night’s game against the first place Miami Heat, that the majority of Sixers fans thought we were going to lose.

It’s also safe to say that when you think the 76ers are going to lose, they most likely win and that’s exactly what happened last night, with Tyrese Maxey putting on a show to lead the Sixers to a 113-106 upset win over the Heat in South Philly.

Overview

The Miami Heat entered last night at full strength, which is something we haven’t seen in previous matchups between the two teams this season. The Sixers held their own throughout the game, leading by one point at the half and up two points heading into the fourth quarter.

After a bad third quarter where both the 76ers and Heat struggled to score, the Sixers opened the floodgates in the fourth, scoring 33 points thanks to both Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey.

Tyrese Maxey

Maxey scored 13 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter, hitting a couple of deep threes and contested layups to secure the win for Philadelphia. He capped off his night with a Embiid-esc game saving block off the backboard that essentially ended Miami’s night.

Maxey turned it on in the final minutes of this game, taking over when it mattered the most, showing just how unafraid the 21-year old can be with the game on the line and his importance to the success of the Sixers both now and in the future.

Bench Help

Two guys that were basically out of the rotation as of last week, Shake Milton and Furkan Korkmaz, combined for 38 points off the bench.

Shake Milton hasn’t matched his 31 minutes played from last night since early December, but he was still able to crest his season high with 20 points on 50% shooting from the field.

It was nice to see Milton get back in his bag, because when he gets going, he is a great addition to this offense via the bench which has been anything but consistent this season.

Last night, Furkan Korkmaz may have shot himself back into the bench conversation. When he’s at his best, Korkmaz provides a really nice scoring and floor spacing threat that the Sixers have lacked recently.

Kork scored 18 points last night, drilling 4/7 shots from beyond the arc. This game doesn’t necessarily make everyone forget how brutal he has been this season but adding another option off the bench that can provide consistent scoring outside of Georges Niang is something that the Sixers desperately need.

Up Next

The Philadelphia 76ers are now sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference standings, 2.5 games behind Miami for the top seed. They will now head West for the week, taking on the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night.

Mandatory Credit: Winston-Salem Journal