In this photo taken with a fisheye lens, Philadelphia 76ers' Ben Simmons, of Australia, dunks the ball during the first half in Game 1 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series against the Miami Heat, Saturday, April 14, 2018, in Philadelphia. The 76ers won 130-103. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

The Fire is Out for the Heat: Philadelphia Moves On

The Philadelphia 76ers doused the Miami Heat’s fire. Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Miami Heat with a final score of 104-91 on Tuesday night. They now will head to the Eastern Conference semifinals for the first time since 2012.

Trust the Process

Philly welcomes home @MeekMill https://t.co/PbVquHypXI

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 25, 2018

The Joel Embiid-Ben Simmons era is all about trusting the process. The Sixers dominated this series even without having Embiid during the entire time of this five game stretch. On Tuesday night, Embiid led the rebounds game with 12, along with 19 points. J.J Reddick led Philadelphia in points with 27. Reddick was also 5 of 10 shooting on three pointers.

“We don’t feel any sense of complacency … this group is still hungry.”@JJRedick after advancing to the Eastern Conference Semifinals.#PhilaUnite x #HereTheyCome https://t.co/LYyY5TPuEQ

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) April 25, 2018

This was also Embiid’s first playoff home game. In addition to those 19 points, he went 8-for-14 on shooting.

Embiid, however, feels that they haven’t reached their ceiling yet. “We have a lot of room to grow. I think we have a special team, we have a lot of talent. We love each other. They’re all good guys,” Embiid said.

Ben Simmons also helped with 14 points and 10 rebounds; However, he ran into some stumbles. He was taken out by Miami’s Josh Richardson as their legs intersected when Simmons was headed to the basket. This caused him to hall. In the third quarter, Miami’s Goran Dragic was called for a technical foul as he slapped Simmons on the head.

.@JoelEmbiid totals 19 points, 12 rebounds and 2 steals in his home playoff debut in the Game 5 win over Miami. #PhilaUnite x #HereTheyCome https://t.co/1SgdBDQ2CA

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) April 25, 2018

Miami’s Mishaps

In the first half, both teams weren’t shooting well. They both shot from 39 percent from the field.

The second half, belonged to the Sixers. Philly outscored Miami 34-20 in the third. Miami did score the first basket of the period though, but then Philly added 11 straight points. Their defense worked well, and they were stronger offensively. In the third, Philly got as high as 18 points ahead of the Heat.

Philly shot at 50 percent while Miami only shot 31.8 percent. In the fourth, Philly went seven minutes without a field goal but did get by on their free throws.

In the beginning of the fourth, Miami was down by 18. However, the Heat did end up going on a 10-0 run. Miami actually cut Philly’s lead to eight points, twice in the final quarter. With 5:41 left, Dwayne Wade had the chance to cut the gap to five points, but it didn’t go in. In Miami’s first half, they ended the second quarter tied. However, the Heat just didn’t keep it up and Philly was able to build that lead throughout the game and couldn’t respond offensively. Miami was led by Kelly Olynyk with 18 points.

One of their best players, Josh Richardson has been suffering from a shoulder strain that he got in game 4. He was limited not only by his shoulder, but by foul trouble in the first half. Miami’s Hassan Whiteside, didn’t do too well either. He was 0-for-4 from the field and only scored a total of two points. Miami’s Tyler Johnson did help some. Johnson scored 16 points and went 7-of-11 from the field, despite suffering a thumb injury.

What’s next?

The question is will Wade return? There has been talk about him retiring. Miami’s Dwayne Wade didn’t have the best exit. He added 11 points and was 4-for-15 from the field. Wade said he won’t make the decision until later in the offseason.

Now, the Sixers get ready to see who their second round opponent will be for the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Philadelphia will either play the Boston Celtics or the Milwaukee Bucks. They’re currently tied in their series 2-2.

Category: Miami Heat, NBA, NBA Playoffs