Embiid leads 76ers over Heat 101-94 for 4th straight at home

The first winnable game comes on Monday night when they square off against the 4-8 Miami Heat.

The Miami Heat travel to Philadelphia to square off with the Sixers.

numberFire’s metrics project Okafor to record 13.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 0.9 blocks against the Heat. Whiteside, the NBA’s leading rebounder, also contributed 13 boards, his 12th double-double in 13 games this season.

Embiid, who already has missed four games this season as the Sixers slowly ease him back, was limited to 24 minutes or less. After the rookie big man went through his pre-game paces, there was still some soreness in the ankle. All that work went to waste however as Miami found little help around him.

Gerald Henderson added 19 points and Jahlil Okafor had 15 for the 76ers, who won their fourth straight home game.

The Sixers are 4-10 and unlikely to put a rush order on printed playoff tickets.

“I felt OK”, Bayless said.

Just in case you didn’t recognise that the seven footer you are dancing with and is buying you drinks is Joel Embiid.

The latest victory, however, marked the first time the Sixers (4-10) won back-to-back games overall since March 2015.

He was serenaded with chants of “MVP!”

In addition to being their best player at both ends, Embiid had been the Sixers’ best distance shooter, 7-for-15, a.476 percentage. They love to run and take quick shots, trailing only Golden State in fast break points (18.6) this season. “But I do see daylight”. They love that dude. But for a team that’s been outscored by 0.9 points per game this season, missed free throws can be painful.

“We’re getting beat off the dribble, (allowing) offensive rebounds and we’re not guarding the 3-point line”, Wizards coach Scott Brooks lamented.

Whiteside made a quick impact with 13 points and five rebounds in the first quarter and was asked if the National Basketball Association has become “a big boy” game after speculation that “people have talked for a while that it’s not a center’s league”. “I’ve thought about bringing Covington off the bench”, Brown said.

Harden made just 6 of 17 shots, but racked up 11 assists to go with his 28 points. Entering the fourth quarter, the Heat trailed 78-74.

“It’s not enough for only one guy to have a good game”, a reserved Goran Dragic said in a corner of the locker room. On two consecutive possessions, he had back-to-back three-point-plays. I see the ups and downs of how Philly fans are, and it doesn’t affect me.

A turnover on the other end by Dragic and a Robert Covington 3-pointer then extended the 76ers lead to 96-91.

“It was a big relief”, he said. “I mean, we started out just with incredibly poor luck”. He shot 47.5 percent on no-dribble three-point shots previous year, which ranked as one of the best rates in the league. That basically required Brett Brown to play him in short bursts, usually about four minutes each, rotating him with Embiid. He ended the night with five fouls, but would have liked to have seen more time on the court.

Defensively, the Heat could not keep the 76ers from draining 3-point field goals on the night as the team shot 11-of-26 from behind the arc for the game.

“Much better”, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told the Miami Herald.

Embiid played 22 minutes in the 110-86 loss to the Wolves, and he joined the Sixers for a lengthy morning shoot-around Saturday. “But with the minutes restrictions, it wasn’t smart”.

The Heat will visit the Detroit Pistons Wednesday at 7:30 and try to get back on track.