Returns of Harris, Milton spark Sixers in rout of Heat to complete sweep

The Sixers are finally getting the band back together.

In Thursday night’s 125-108 handling of the Miami Heat, Philadelphia welcomed Tobias Harris, Shake Milton, and Matisse Thybulle back to the rotation after they all missed the previous 3 games due to the league’s health and safety protocols following contact with Seth Curry, who tested positive for COVID-19 last week.

Their returns provided great relief to a strained Sixers roster that no more than 9 healthy bodies in that span. Each member of the trio played a big role in helping the team complete a sweep of the Heat in this 2-game miniseries and improve its record to 9-4.

Harris was immediately reinserted into the starting power forward spot and pumped in 18 points on thirteen shots. Thybulle added only 8 points in his 17 minutes off the bench, but he played his usual brand of active defense, racking up 4 steals and a block. Milton had one of the best games of his career, scoring 31 points on just 15 shot attempts. The 6’5” combo guard was also a reliable secondary playmaker all night, dishing out 7 assists against only one turnover. The Sixers were a team-best +24 in his time on the floor.

It was a complete team effort. Ben Simmons filled up the box score. Despite only taking 8 shots, he collected his second triple double of the season with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists, and remained a terror in transition. Tyrese Maxey continued cementing his status as a draft day steal, making his first 6 shots from the field en route to 15 points. In all, 6 Sixers scored a in double figures. They shot 53.7% from the floor, including an incendiary 45.9% from three (17-for-37).

The one Sixer who did struggle was its brightest star. After Joel Embiid dominated both ends in Tuesday’s tilt with these same Heat, he failed to reach double digits in both points and rebounds in the same game for the first time this season. Still, one contest is a blip on the radar, and he has played at an MVP level to this point. The Sixers will in fact likely view this as a positive for their big picture—if they can perform this way when their best player is a relative nonfactor, watch out when the entire roster is firing on all cylinders.

However, it will be interesting to see how these teams matchup when both are at full strength. Miami was once again forced to play a perilously thin lineup, with just 8 active players for the second consecutive game due to injuries and safety protocols. Chief among the absences were Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler, the Heat’s two All-Stars a year ago.

Coming off of its feisty performance on Tuesday, Miami was simply overmatched in this one. Duncan Robinson paced the team with 22 points but was a -19. Undrafted guard Gabe Vincent attempted the most shots with 17 but made only six. Kelly Olynyk led all players with just under 39 minutes. Miami turned the ball over 20 times.

Things were competitive enough in the early going. The Heat started the game off with 6 straight points. Late in the first quarter, they held a 29-24 advantage fueled by 8 points from Robinson and 6 from Tyler Herro. But the Sixers responded with a 17-3 burst that carried over into the second quarter, and they never again trailed. After Miami closed the gap 43-39, Philadelphia again went on a run, this time a 13-2 stretch in the middle of the second quarter. At halftime, they found themselves on top 73-58.

The gap was never less than 12 the rest of the way, with the Sixers leading by as much as 25 in the final frame.

Philadelphia begins a weekend back-to-back with the Grizzlies and Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday at 8 p.m. in Memphis. The 5-6 Grizzlies are in the early years of a rebuild. Their two brightest young stars, guard Ja Morant and power forward Jaren Jackson Jr. are both on the shelf with injuries.