Sixers win without Joel Embiid, face Miami Heat in NBA play-in tournament. What to know

PHILADELPHIA − The 76ers did their part, beating the Brooklyn Nets 107-86 on Sunday without star center Joel Embiid, who sat out to continue recovering from his knee injury.

But it was not enough to avoid the play-in tournament, where the No. 7 seed Sixers will face the No. 8 seed Miami Heat on Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Center. If the Sixers win, they'll advance to the first round of the playoffs and face the No. 2 seed New York Knicks in a best-of-7 series.

The Sixers could have avoided the play-in tournament with a win and a loss by either Indiana Pacers or Orlando Magic.

But those teams also won their games Sunday afternoon. That created a three-way tie for the No. 5 seed. In that scenario, Orlando got the No. 5 seed, the Pacers the No. 6 seed, and the Sixers were No. 7.

NO EMBIID: Joel Embiid out with knee injury as Sixers try to avoid NBA play-in tournament vs. Nets

If the Sixers had lost, they would have been the No. 8 seed, and thus would have traveled to Miami for the play-in game. So it was a calculated risk by Sixers coach Nick Nurse to rest Embiid, who averaged a career-high 34.7 points per game this season.

After all, the Sixers were 16-27 without Embiid this season, and 31-8 with him in the lineup. Nurse said after the game that Embiid was rested as a precaution, and will be ready for the Heat.

As it turned out, the Sixers won their eighth straight game. They were led by Tyrese Maxey with 26 points while going against a depleted Nets team without nine players, including former Sixer Ben Simmons, who has been out since late February with a back injury.

Embiid, who averaged a career-high 34.7 points this season, played in five of those games. That's why Sixers forward Tobias Harris said he's not disappointed the Sixers will have to play one, and possibly two, extra games in order to advance to the playoffs.

"I think (momentum) matters," said Harris, who finished with 21 points. "I think the end of this year, the momentum that we’ve had getting Joel back, and everybody finding balance on the court. That’s been a very positive sign for us … We’re a very confident group right now."

Still, Embiid's health will be a worry for the Sixers. He was hobbling somewhat in the second quarter Friday night against Orlando. Embiid came back in the second half and finished with 32 points in the Sixers' 125-113 win.

By sitting against Brooklyn, he'll have five days to recover. Had other things fallen the Sixers' way, he would have had over a week to recover.

How does the NBA play-in tournament work?

The play-in tournament is for teams seeded No. 7 through 10 in both the Eastern and Western Conferences.

In the East, the Sixers as the No. 7 seed, will host the one-game playoff against No. 8 Miami on Wednesday (the Flyers are home Tuesday night). No. 9 Chicago will host No. 10 Atlanta on either Tuesday or Wednesday.

The winner of the Sixers-Heat game advances to the first round as the No. 7 seed. That team would face the No. 2 seed, the New York Knicks, beginning next weekend in a best-of-7 first-round series. The Knicks would have the homecourt advantage.

But the loser of the Sixers-Heat game is not eliminated from the postseason just yet.

The loser would get one more chance to advance to the first round by hosting the winner of the Chicago-Atlanta game on Friday night. The loser of the Chicago-Atlanta game is eliminated from the postseason. The winner of the second play-in game would be the No. 8 seed and face the No. 1 seed Boston Celtics in the first round.

The Celtics finished with the best record in the NBA at 64-18. They eliminated the Sixers in seven games in the second round last season.

What to know about the Miami Heat

The Sixers and Heat split the four-game season series this season. Miami won 119-113 on Dec. 25 and 109-104 on Feb. 14.

Embiid didn't play in either game. Embiid also sat out the March 18 game, which the Sixers won 98-91. Embiid was back when the Sixers beat the Heat 109-105 on April 4.

That was Embiid's second game since returning April 2. He had 29 points in 33 minutes. Since returning, Embiid has played in five of seven games, averaging 30.4 points, 9.2 rebounds in those games.

The Heat are led by former Sixer Jimmy Butler, who averaged 20.9 points per game heading into the season finale. Bam Adebayo averaged 19.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.

"It’s going to be a tough game," Maxey said about the Heat. "That’s who they are. They bring toughness, and I feel like we do as well."

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: NBA playoffs: Philadelphia 76ers face Miami Heat in play-in tournament