The 76ers headed home from Miami without the one win they wanted and needed.
The Heat’s 119-103 victory Wednesday night at FTX Arena dropped the Sixers into a 2-0 hole in the Eastern Conference semifinal playoffs.
But when the best-of-seven series shifts to South Philadelphia for Games 3 (Friday night, 7) and 4 (Sunday night, 8), the Sixers insist they’re confident things will be different.
A big part of the equation will be Sixers star center Joel Embiid, who could return as soon as Friday after missing the first two games with an orbital fracture and mild concussion. Doc Rivers’ team craves having Embiid on the floor, but it must improve in other areas from the first two games, too.
Asked about the possibility of Embiid playing in Game 3 following Wednesday’s defeat, Rivers said, “I really don’t know. … He looked good as far as talking (via FaceTime), but he’s got so many steps to go through right now. He hasn’t cleared any of them.”
Even if Embiid isn’t 100 percent, the constant double-teaming he receives should create more open shots for his teammates.
“When we go home with the crowd on our side, we got to hit first,” said second-year guard Tyrese Maxey. “We got to go after them and put them on our heels. If we can put them on their heels, then we can take control of the game. … If Joel’s back (Friday), that’s great. If not, we just got to keep fighting.”
Among the Sixers’ issues against Miami was 3-point shooting. After only making 6 of 34 3s (.176) in the 106-92 Game 1 loss, lowlighted by reserve forward Georges Niang’s 0-for-7 showing, Philly went 8 for 30 (.267) from behind the arc. The Heat hit 14 of 29 (.483) of their 3s in Game 2.
“I liked the shots, but 8 for 30 with the looks you’re getting is tough,” Rivers said. “Look at the difference (in the 3-point shooting). You can put the game right there.”
“You fight, you claw, you give yourself chances,” said veteran guard James Harden. “But when it comes down to it, you got to make shots, especially on the road against a really good team.”
At the center spot, Rivers started veteran DeAndre Jordan in the series opener and also used second-year pro Paul Reed and veteran Paul Millsap, as well as power forwards Tobias Harris and Niang as undersized big men, until the final four minutes of garbage time. Millsap didn’t get into Game 2, though the rest of the rotation remained similar to two nights earlier. Jordan played better than in his forgettable series opener, but Reed didn’t have the same impact as in Game 1.
Rivers again went with a small lineup at times Wednesday, which he said was about “more just trying to create a lineup that gives us an advantage. That’s why we did (by doing small) the other night.”
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Former MVP Harden was more aggressive in the second quarter, scoring 12 of his 20 points in the period, but the Sixers still trailed by eight at intermission. He finished with four points and one made field goal in the second half for the second straight time.
Harden said the Heat were double-teaming and denying him the ball after halftime, which allowed Maxey and others to have more space to operate.
Maxey paced the Sixers with 34 points, including 11 in a row from late in the third quarter into the fourth, and Harris, who had 27 in Game 1, added 21 points.
Danny Green, Matisse Thybulle and Niang continued to struggle for the Sixers, who committed 24-second shot clock violations on two of three possessions in the final minute of the third period and early in the fourth quarter.
If the Sixers are going to reach the conference finals for the first time since 2001, they must win four of the next five from the top-seeded Heat. Even if Embiid is able to return, that’s not going to be easy.
“We’re going to go home, do what we have to do and we’ll be back here for Game 5,” Harden said.
If they plan on advancing, they’re almost surely going to need to even the series at the Wells Fargo Center, with or without Embiid. We’ll find out if that’s realistic.
Tom Moore: tmoore@couriertimes; @TomMoorePhilly
