Philadelphia 76ers Handle Miami Heat 98-91 as Tyrese Maxey Continues to Shine

The Philadelphia 76ers handle the Miami Heat 98-91 as Philadelphia improves to 38-30 on the season and moves up to 6th place in the Eastern Conference, trailing Orlando for 5th place by a two-game margin.

Tyrese Maxey led all scorers with a near triple-double of 30 points, 10 assists, and 8 rebounds. Kelly Oubre Jr. chipped in a double-double of 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 blocks on 10-19 field shooting. Kyle Lowry produced 16 points and 4 rebounds on 6-12 shooting from the field.

Tyrese Maxey over his last 3 games:

30 PTS – 4 REB – 4 AST
30 PTS – 3 REB – 4 AST
30 PTS – 8 REB – 10 AST pic.twitter.com/LyDqIgHroG

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 19, 2024

Bam Adebayo and Terry Rozier each contributed 20 points a piece with Adebayo tallying 13 rebounds and 6 assists and Rozier racking up 8 rebounds.

The 76ers were without the services of Robert Covington (knee), Joel Embiid (knee), Tobias Harris (ankle), Kai Jones (hamstring), and De’Anthony Melton (back).

Jimmy Butler (foot), Tyler Herro (foot), Nikola Jovic (hamstring), Kevin Love (heel), and Josh Richardson (shoulder) were sidelined for the Heat.

Maxey Leads 76ers in the 1st Quarter

Tyrese Maxey and Mo Bamba established a two-man game early on as Maxey came off a Bamba handoff and drilled a baseline jumper against drop coverage and Maxey drew defenders off a Bamba screen opening up a wing three for the big man. 

Maxey came out scorching, scoring 17 of Philadelphia’s 31 points in the 1st quarter. Maxey constantly looked for his shot against single coverage, torching the likes of Duncan Robinson and Haywood Highsmith in getting to the rim and drilling pull-up shots. Maxey quickly got going from beyond, hitting a pull-up three in the face of Martin and cashing in a corner triple off of Buddy Hield’s gravity. 

pic.twitter.com/SfoRDes30B

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) March 18, 2024

The 76ers couldn’t stop Bam Adebayo who produced 7 points and 4 assists in 6 minutes of play. Philadelphia was in a scramble defense where they doubled the ball in the post and off pick-and-rolls. Adebayo was able to excel off the short roll and find the weak-side shooter along with facilitating in transition and creating offense off his post gravity. Adebayo took his defender off the dribble and canned a corner three. 

Philadelphia ended the quarter on a 12-4 run led by Cam Payne’s playmaking off the attack and Kelly Oubre’s drives coming from back-door cuts and dribble penetration. Without Adebayo on the floor, Miami lacked an offensive creator and better rotations from the 76ers only made offense harder to come by for Miami. 

76ers Fall Victim to Miami Zone

Similarly, when Tyrese Maxey rested at the start of the 2nd quarter, the 76ers went cold as Miami played a menacing zone defense that enabled them to go on a 17-5 run. Despite solid penetration from Oubre and Payne, Philadelphia couldn’t knock down shots and the Heat charged in transition as Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Terry Rozier routinely provided dribble drives. 

The 76ers scored just 20 points in the 2nd quarter as Miami’s zone defense took Philadelphia out of the rhythm they found in the 1st quarter. Maxey, who notched 17 first-quarter points, was held to just one point in the 2nd period off a foul shot. Haywood Highsmith and Delon Wright’s solid point-of-attack defense made things difficult for Maxey as the all-star guard was forced into tough shots off drives. 

However, Maxey used his facilitating and playmaking to create shots for Kelly Oubre Jr. in transition, who thrived off the ball as a cutter that wittingly detected open lanes to the rim as Miami doubled. 

Bam Adebayo, operating from around the elbow, held Miami’s offense together with his elite court vision, dishing it to Haywood Highsmith when he had a mismatch and using his gravity to find Highsmith cutting from the back door. Adebayo finished the first half on a triple-double watch with 13 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists. 

76ers Catch Fire

The 76ers came out firing to start the 2nd half as Philadelphia got off to a 12-2 run. Lowry and Maxey nicely anticipated Adebayo’s passes and picked them off, which enabled the 76ers to get going in transition where Lowry and Bamba canned consecutive triples, and Maxey got to the basket. 

Miami continued to be careless with the basketball with a series of unforced turnovers that allowed Oubre Jr. to penetrate in early offense and create a corner three for Maxey as well as cut to the basket as Kyle Lowry drew multiple defenders off the Bamba pick-and-roll.

The 76ers held Miami to just 16 points in the quarter and it wasn’t just by forcing turnovers. Philadelphia’s defensive rotations were on point as the 76ers collectively switched off flare-screens and provided adequate help at the rim if a defender got beat. 

2️⃣5️⃣ for @TyreseMaxey! pic.twitter.com/cyyrCdewtR

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) March 19, 2024

Maxey’s screen navigation and one-on-one defense against Miami’s backcourt of Delon Wright and Terry Rozier was solid and Nic Batum’s switchability and active hands caused the Heat problems. 

Maxey’s ability to drill mid-range shots off the bounce was on full display as the 76ers closed out the quarter. Buddy Hield got going as well, canning a wing triple assisted by Maxey and drawing defenders off the pick-and-roll, creating a lane to the paint for the roll-man. 

76ers Barely Close it Out 

Philadelphia’s offense once again spiraled as Maxey took a breather to start the quarter. The Heat jumped out to a quick 11-2 run whereas the 76ers had little success against Miami’s zone without any offensive creator in Maxey and Lowry on the floor. Off stops, the Heat pushed the pace and attacked in an early offense led by Rozier and Jaquez Jr. 

Terry Rozier caught fire as he drilled a pull-up three in the face of Maxey and had a lot of success off Thomas Bryant pick-and-rolls where he drilled a three and got to the rim for a quick two as the 76ers played drop coverage.

Miami started trapping the ball and pressing at halfcourt, which forced turnovers and effectively broke down the 76ers’ offense as Philadelphia went cold shooting spot-up threes in an attempt to counter Miami’s traps. 

Maxey struggled to deal with these intense coverages, producing two turnovers midway into the quarter. Philadelphia, up as much as 13 points, had their lead cut down to 88-85 midway into the period. 

Maxey’s facilitating came at a crucial time as multiple defenders gravitated towards him as he got the ball and Maxey used that defensive attention to find Lowry for a deep spot-up three and swung it to Oubre for an impressive drive off the catch. 

The 76ers put together a critical string of stops in crunch time including quick switching by Oubre to contain Jaquez Jr. and a timely rotation by Lowry to contest Jaquez Jr.’s corner three that ultimately sealed the deal.

This was probably the most important play in the Sixers win tonight.

Designed play for Maxey to break the Heat's 2-3 zone, he misses the shot but great Paul Reed offensive rebound, and then Kyle Lowry attacks Rozier's closeout and finishes in traffic. pic.twitter.com/wY9UYCH6H2

— Daniel Olinger (@dan_olinger) March 19, 2024

Philadelphia will start their four-game west coast trip on Wednesday against the Phoenix Suns at 10:00 p.m. EST.

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