MIAMI, FL- Jimmy Butler and Max Strus led the Miami Heat to a 120-85 blowout win to take a 3-2 series lead over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Miami jumped out to an 18-10 lead which prompted Philadelphia to call a timeout. Joel Embiid was touching his knees and limped to the sideline.
A 3-pointer from Strus added gave Miami an 11-point lead.
Miami entered the second quarter with a 31-19 lead and Jimmy Butler and Strus combined for 22 points in the first quarter, with 11 points from both players.
Miami jumped to an early 36-22 second-quarter lead over the 76ers. However, Philadelphia cut their deficit to eight points with 7:31 left in the half.
Victor Oladipo responded with a 3-pointer to give Miami an 11-point lead.
On an Oladipo layup attempt, Embiid grabbed the rebound but Dewayne Dedmon accidentally pushed the ball towards Embiid. The ball hit his face and Embiid fell to the ground.
Philadelphia head coach Doc Rivers was upset and was assessed a technical foul after screaming at the referees. Embiid was able to get back up and stay in the game.
Things looked worse for Philadelphia as the Heat scored seven-straight points to take an 18 point lead. Miami entered halftime with a 56-44 lead.
In the third quarter, Miami took control with a 71-51 lead with 3:46 left. Embiid scored 11 points in the third but Miami entered the fourth quarter with an 81-66 lead.
The Heat scored 12-straight points at the start of the fourth quarter to go up by 27 points against the 76ers. The game was out of reach at that point.
Butler led the Heat in scoring with 23 points, nine rebounds, and six assists. Strus followed with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Miami tied their second-largest postseason victory margin with a 35-point win.
Miami After The Game
Butler made a few comments about Miami’s win.
“We did what we were supposed to do, once again,” Butler said. “We won at home. We’re a different team when we make shots and I don’t like that. I want us to be able to get stops no matter what and then we worry about making shots. Right now, we’re cool.”
P.J. Tucker walked over to Butler to also make some comments.
“I’m just lucky to play with guys like Jimmy, man,” Tucker said. “Everything I learned, I learned from him. He played hard and I just matched his energy.”
Tucker left the court and Butler talked about the Heat’s next game and what it is going to take to win the series.
“Us to continue to play basketball the rightway, us to get stops, and not rely on making shots,” Butler said. “I promise you, if we don’t give a damn about making shots, and we just worry about defense, we will win.”
Embiid Was In Pain
Embiid looked in pain throughout the game. There were moments when he was holding his back while walking across the court.
After the incident when the ball hit Embiid’s face, he was constantly taking off his mask. There were also a couple of times when he fell to the floor and had a hard time getting up.
This all happened in the first half.
In the third quarter, he looked bothered with his face mask. At one point, he was fouled on a made layup attempt and had to take off his mask when he was shooting his free throw.
Embiid looked fatigued by the beginning of the fourth quarter and left the game in the first two minutes of the quarter.
He finished the game with 17 points and five rebounds, while shooting 7-of-12 (58.3%) from the field.
Philadelphia is one game away from losing the series and would need to replicate their game three and game four performance in order to push this series to seven games.
Up Next
The Philadelphia 76ers will host the Miami Heat on May 12, 7 pm est.
