The Miami Heat are going to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second time in three years, and the Philadelphia 76ers have been eliminated from the NBA playoffs.
Miami went on the road and took down Philadelphia 99-90 Thursday night in Game 6 to win the second-round playoff series 4-2.
It was a pretty brutal way for the 76ers — who entered the game as two-point favorites — to go out. A roster featuring Joel Embiid, James Harden, Tyrese Maxey, and Tobias Harris went down without much of a fight in the second half of Game 6.
After leading by one point at halftime, Miami outscored Philadelphia 25-15 in the second half and led by as many as 20 points in the fourth quarter.
Harden — acquired by Philadelphia in a blockbuster in-season trade with the Brooklyn Nets — scored just 11 points and only attempted nine field goals. He didn’t score a single point in the second half.
Embiid — who played with a mask after suffering a right orbital fracture and concussion, and who has torn ligaments in his right thumb — scored 20 points on 7-of-24 shooting from the field.
Jimmy Butler led the way for Miami with 32 points.
Miami will face the winner of the Boston Celtics-Milwaukee Bucks series in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Heat will look to reach the NBA Finals for the second time in three years (they lost 4-2 to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2019-20).
The basketball world has had plenty to say about the game, and especially about the Sixers’ extremely disappointing exit:
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.