The Sixers are heading into Thursday afternoon's trade deadline on a losing note.
They fell to a 108-101 defeat Wednesday night to the Heat at Wells Fargo Center, dropping to 20-30 on the season. Miami moved to 25-24.
Tyrese Maxey led the Sixers with a 31-point performance.
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All-Star Heat guard Tyler Herro had 30 points, seven assists and seven rebounds. Nikola Jovic added 23 points (8 for 9 from the field), seven assists and five boards.
Centers Joel Embiid (left knee injury management) and Andre Drummond (left toe injury recovery) were out for the Sixers.
With the logistics of Tuesday’s Sixers-Mavs deal not yet completed, Quentin Grimes was unavailable to make his Sixers debut. On Wednesday morning, the Sixers agreed to trade KJ Martin and two second-round draft picks to the Pistons.
Trade news has been swirling constantly around Philadelphia lately. During the second quarter of Sixers-Heat, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Miami was finalizing a deal to send Jimmy Butler to the Warriors.
The deadline is Thursday at 3 p.m. ET. The Sixers’ first post-deadline game will be Friday night against the Pistons in Detroit.
Here are observations on their loss to the Heat:
Sixers find footing with free throws, points off turnovers
Paul George returned after five games out with a left pinkie finger injury. The nine-time All-Star wore a brace on his finger, which he said postgame he's been told he'll need for at least six weeks after tearing a tendon.
In Game 50 of the season, George was part of the Sixers’ 31st starting lineup along with Maxey, Kelly Oubre Jr., Justin Edwards and Guerschon Yabusele.
George tried a catch-and-shoot three-pointer on the game’s first play and missed it long. As a team, the Sixers started 1 for 9 from the field and 0 for 6 from long range. Seven straight Herro points put Miami up 10-6. George resided almost exclusively on the perimeter and didn’t score in his opening stint. Maxey wasn’t on his A-game either; he shot 3 for 10 from the floor in the first half.
The Sixers’ two silver linings early were free throws and a major advantage in the turnover department.
Both members of Miami’s starting frontcourt, Kel’el Ware and Bam Adebayo, picked up two fouls in under five minutes. The Sixers scored seven of their first nine points at the foul line. They also got up some kind of shot on nearly every possession and recorded the game’s first 15 points off turnovers.
Miami’s bench lights it up
A Terry Rozier corner three gave the Heat a 29-25 lead with 1.7 seconds left in the first quarter.
Rozier was ultra-productive off Miami’s bench in the first half, racking up 16 points. On the Sixers’ side, the Reggie Jackson-Kyle Lowry bench backcourt didn’t have an effective start. However, Jackson poured in eight consecutive points early in the second quarter.
Adem Bona played a nice first half, too. He chased down a long rebound soon after checking in, forced a three-second violation with good isolation defense on Jaime Jaquez Jr., and played a low-mistake, high-effort game on both ends.
As far as shotmaking, Miami’s bench ultimately did a ton more than the Sixers’. On top of Rozier’s big first half, Jovic posted 15 points on 6-for-6 shooting and helped the Heat go into the locker room with a 62-57 halftime edge.
Sixers not sharp in crunch time
Herro kicked off the second-half scoring by draining a three, but the Sixers’ gigantic edge in turnovers prevented the Heat from breaking open a big lead.
The Sixers ended the game with a season-low four turnovers. Miami committed 22 giveaways.
In several other key areas, the Sixers were inferior. They continued to allow the Heat’s shooters to get open looks and George’s offensive struggles persisted. Oubre conceded a four-point play to Herro and a Bam Adebayo mid-range jumper extended the Sixers’ deficit to double digits. Later in the third quarter, Adebayo snuck backdoor behind Maxey and slammed in an easy dunk.
With Maxey and George sitting, the Sixers managed to cut into the Heat's advantage a bit early in the fourth quarter. Bona (11 points on 4-for-5 shooting, five rebounds) kept playing very well.
Miami's lead remained slim. After a three by George (nine points on 3-for-11 shooting), the Sixers were down four points with 4:19 remaining. Head coach Nick Nurse and his players were unhappy with multiple fourth-quarter no-calls in and around the paint. The Heat won an important challenge to take away a Maxey trip to the foul line, too.
In the end, the Sixers simply weren't sharp enough in a few pivotal moments.
Oubre split a pair of free throws. Maxey missed a layup and Oubre couldn't convert his put-back try. Adebayo and Herro hit critical mid-range shots. Herro slipped free for a layup on a late sideline out-of-bounds play.
The bottom line is that 50 games in, the Sixers find themselves at 10 games under .500 and 11th in the Eastern Conference standings.