Spoelstra moves to 9-0 on Christmas as Heat top 76ers 119-113
Rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 31 points and got his first double-double, Bam Adebayo finished with 26 points and 15 rebounds and the Miami Heat held on to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 119-113 on Monday night.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra improved to 9-0 on Christmas, the best record in NBA history for head coaches on the holiday.
Tyler Herro scored 22 points, Duncan Robinson added 16 and Kyle Lowry had 12 for the Heat in what became his first Christmas win. Jaquez also grabbed 10 rebounds for Miami, which held a 56-36 edge on the boards.
Reigning MVP and two-time defending scoring champion Joel Embiid missed the game for Philadelphia because of an ankle sprain. Tobias Harris scored 27 points for the 76ers, and Kelly Oubre Jr. added 25. Mo Bamba scored 18, De'Anthony Melton had 15 and Tyrese Maxey — who shot 4 for 20 from the floor — finished with 12.
The Heat were again without Jimmy Butler (calf strain) and also ruled out Josh Richardson (back discomfort) and Haywood Highsmith (non-COVID illness) — then lost starting forward Caleb Martin in the first half to an ankle sprain.
It was 86-86 after three quarters, the sort of score that suggests it had been close for much of the way to that point.
That was not the case.
There were wild ebbs and flows, with Philadelphia starting hot, then Miami opening a huge lead and the 76ers not even needing a full quarter to erase what was a 21-point Heat edge. But Jaquez and Adebayo each had 10 points in the fourth, and the Heat held on.
Herro (16), Adebayo (14) and Jaquez Jr. (14) combined for 44 points in the first half, one where Miami engineered a 27-point turnaround in one 16-minute stretch — going from down 10 midway through the first quarter to up by 17 late in the second.
It was a forgettable first half for Maxey, who missed all nine of his shots in what was by far the worst opening-half shooting effort of his career. And to be fair, the rest of the 76ers weren't exactly sizzling in those first two quarters.
They took a 21-12 lead and then missed their next 14 shots from the floor, Miami going on a 21-1 run in that stretch. The lead was 63-49 at the half, and the Heat then scored the first seven points of the third to push the lead out to 21.
UP NEXT
76ers: Visit Orlando on Wednesday.
Heat: Visit Golden State on Thursday.
