Miami Heat Looking To Bounce Back Against The 76ers
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MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) – The Miami Heat are hoping to even the Eastern Conference series Monday night against the 76ers after Saturday night's rout in Philly.
The 76ers closed the game on a 74-40 run in what ended up as a 130-103 rout — the most points that any Heat team has allowed in any postseason game.
"We have to learn from it," Miami guard Dwyane Wade said. "It's a seven-game series. They beat our butt in the first one. But at the end of the day, they're up 1-0 no matter which way they did it. We definitely have to make adjustments. We can't go into the game saying, 'Oh, they're not going to make those shots again.'"
Philadelphia has now won 17 consecutive games, as well as 24 of its last 25 at home (not counting a "home" loss in London to Boston), and is coming off its fourth outing of 130 points or more this season. "If that's the way it's going to be, then we've got to conquer it," Eric Spoelstra said. "We've got to find a way."
Miami will have to change how it attacks screens and gets out on Philadelphia's shooters, but that's obviously easier said than done. Philadelphia will be brimming with confidence, and rightly so. 76ers coach Brett Brown knows the Heat will make adjustments, and it'll be incumbent on him to react on the fly in Game 2.
As far as injuries, 76ers star center Joel Embiid was released from the NBA's concussion protocol Sunday, but he will not play in Game 2. He's recovering from surgery to repair an orbital fracture. For Miami, point guard Goran Dragic played Saturday through a sore right knee that has dogged him for a couple weeks.
So for now, Philadelphia leads the series 1-0. Game 2 is Monday night at 8 p.m. on TNT.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
