Joel Embiid, Sixers upset with sloppy play, turnovers in loss to Heat
PHILADELPHIA–The Philadelphia 76ers had a chance to bounce back at home on Monday night when they played host to the Miami Heat. The Sixers had a very good chance considering Miami had lost four straight games entering the contest, but Philadelphia didn’t help its chances.
The Sixers committed 20 turnovers on the night. Joel Embiid committed six of those turnovers and James Harden committed four as Philadelphia was not able to overcome those mistakes in a 101-99 loss to the Heat.
“That’s on me,” said Embiid. “Just being careless. I could have done a better job. Yeah, that’s on me.”
Embiid and the Sixers had a chance to overcome the Heat and get the lead back late, but they just weren’t able to get it done. Miami is a scrappy team and they are one of the top defensive teams in the league. The Sixers should have been more prepared for what the Heat bring to the table.
“Just being sloppy,” said coach Doc Rivers. “They double a lot, they reach a lot, we know that. Our passing was not on target I just thought we were sloppy tonight. Sluggish, it happens, but I think in those games, you still gotta find a way to win. Tonight, we didn’t.”
The Heat being able to force turnovers allowed them to get out in transition and they were able to get wide-open looks from deep. Entering the night ranked 28th in 3-point shooting, Miami shot 15-for-37 from deep on the night which is good for 40.5%.
“Some of it us,” Harden added about the turnovers. “Some of it was them. They were aggressive the entire night. They did a good job of pressuring the basketball and forcing some of them. Some of them was just careless.”
Philadelphia will take on this same Heat team on Wednesday in Miami to kick off a five-game road trip.
