A 76ers flashback that quickly met reality as Spoelstra fires up the Heat

Philadelphia woke up to a Sunday extravaganza... with most of the city’s attention fixed on AT&T Stadium in Dallas, where the Cowboys and Eagles were gearing up for one of the East Coast’s great rivalries, a matchup that resonates across all of American sports. The Eagles might be the city’s heartbeat, but the 76ers are another of Philadelphia’s defining symbols, a proud franchise that hasn’t always lived up to its legacy in recent years, drifting from The Process into the post-Process haze. From industrial-scale tanking to frustration and uncertainty.

In a season where nothing has come easily, and just hours before the city held its breath for Cowboys–Eagles, the 76ers treated themselves – this was one of the dates circled on the calendar – to a full revival of their 2001 identity. That meant the old war paint: court logo, colors, uniforms. Sitting courtside was Allen Iverson, who led that run as far as humanly possible, right up to that 1–0 lead in the Finals before the Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal Lakers locked in. The vibe of those good old days flickered briefly before reality settled back in.

Heat burns out Philly feeling

Miami Heat never trailed and closed out a comfortable, if hard-earned, 117–127 win. The 76ers erased a 16-point deficit with a blistering 16–0 run in the second quarter and cut a 14-point hole in the third, but ultimately lacked the resources to finish the job because, once again, they were held together by tape. Tyrese Maxey, the anchor of their early season, wasn’t at his sharpest – 27 points, yes, but he had dropped 54 in Milwaukee the night before – and spent much of the second half clutching his shoulder in visible discomfort. And they were without Joel Embiid, still dealing with knee issues and stuck on six games played, plus absences for VJ Edgecombe, Adem Bona and Kelly Oubre. The 76ers rarely look whole anymore, drifting from the team of The Process to a team permanently in process.

Paul George started the first half and came off the bench in the second, finishing with 10 points on 10 shots and going 0-for-5 from deep. Andre Drummond hauled in 23 rebounds, eight of them on the offensive glass, and the rest was spread among Quentin Grimes, Trendon Watford and Jared McCain – who scored 15 and finally looked like the Rookie of the Year favorite he had been before injury sent him spiraling into limbo last season. With a reduced rotation, Philadelphia did well just to stay upright, trailing but alive for most of the afternoon. But they never found the extra spark needed to complete any of their attempted comebacks.

Because Miami is good – now third in the East, just half a game off second, in a conference where few would have predicted a top three of Pistons, Raptors, Heat after more than a month of play. Erik Spoelstra’s group has rediscovered its competitive edge and shaken off last season’s gloom. The once-grinding, slow-paced offense has flipped into a fast, thrilling, turbocharged style built on quick rebounds and immediate transitions.

Without Tyler Herro, Andrew Wiggins and Nikola Jovic, South Florida still had enough of its identity intact to win in Philadelphia. Norm Powell continued his exceptional season with 32 points on 11-of-18 shooting. Bam Adebayo added 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Kel’el Ware – whose upside is beginning to look dizzying – posted 20 points and 16 boards. Jaime Jaquez Jr. delivered 22 points and seven assists, strengthening his Sixth Man of the Year case. Add in Dru Smith, Pelle Larsson, Simone Fontecchio, the rock-solid Davion Mitchell (8–8–12) and the injured group, and the Heat look deep, physical and newly aligned with their competitive identity. In a mediocre East, they’re now a serious playoff contender. From there, we’ll see.

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Philadelphia 76ers

Stats

25 Dominick Barlow
22 Johni Broome
1 Andre Drummond
11 Justin Edwards
8 Paul George
23 Eric Gordon
5 Quentin Grimes
7 Kyle Lowry
0 Tyrese Maxey
20 Jared McCain
45 Hunter Sallis
33 Jabari Walker
12 Trendon Watford

Stats

	Min	Pts	TR	OR	DR	Ast	Los	Rec	Blk	S1	S2	S3	RF	CF	Val
25 Dominick Barlow	20	9	3	1	2	0	0	0	2	0/0	3/4	1/4	0	2	0
22 Johni Broome	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
1 Andre Drummond	38	14	23	8	15	1	2	0	2	1/2	5/9	1/2	0	1	0
11 Justin Edwards	32	7	4	2	2	3	3	2	2	0/0	2/5	1/3	0	2	0
8 Paul George	20	10	2	1	1	5	2	1	1	4/5	3/5	0/5	0	2	0
23 Eric Gordon	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
5 Quentin Grimes	34	15	0	0	0	3	2	0	1	1/1	4/7	2/7	0	5	0
7 Kyle Lowry	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
0 Tyrese Maxey	36	27	3	0	3	6	3	2	0	2/2	5/9	5/14	0	2	0
20 Jared McCain	25	15	1	0	1	2	1	1	0	2/2	2/7	3/4	0	3	0
45 Hunter Sallis	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1/2	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
33 Jabari Walker	4	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	1	0
12 Trendon Watford	26	19	9	2	7	7	1	1	1	4/5	6/10	1/2	0	3	0

Miami Heat

Stats

13 Bam Adebayo
0 Simone Fontecchio
15 Myron Gardner
11 Jaime Jaquez Jr.
16 Keshad Johnson
9 Pelle Larsson
45 Davion Mitchell
24 Norman Powell
12 Dru Smith
7 Kel'el Ware
17 Jahmir Young
50 Vladislav Goldin
25 Kasparas Jakucionis

Stats

	Min	Pts	TR	OR	DR	Ast	Los	Rec	Blk	S1	S2	S3	RF	CF	Val
13 Bam Adebayo	32	18	13	3	10	1	2	1	0	3/4	6/10	1/4	0	1	0
0 Simone Fontecchio	18	6	3	1	2	2	0	0	0	0/0	0/1	2/7	0	1	0
15 Myron Gardner	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
11 Jaime Jaquez Jr.	32	22	2	1	1	7	4	0	0	2/3	10/12	0/0	0	4	0
16 Keshad Johnson	19	4	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	0/0	2/4	0/1	0	1	0
9 Pelle Larsson	31	6	7	1	6	8	2	1	0	2/5	2/7	0/6	0	3	0
45 Davion Mitchell	30	8	8	1	7	12	1	1	0	3/4	1/4	1/2	0	2	0
24 Norman Powell	29	32	4	1	3	1	1	2	0	6/9	7/11	4/7	0	2	0
12 Dru Smith	16	9	4	1	3	1	2	0	1	0/0	3/5	1/2	0	0	0
7 Kel'el Ware	26	20	16	8	8	0	0	2	1	4/5	5/11	2/2	0	2	0
17 Jahmir Young	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	1/1	0/1	0	1	0
50 Vladislav Goldin	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
25 Kasparas Jakucionis	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0