Jacari McRae | December 29th, 2019
The top of the Eastern Conference is tough. After going down to the wire against the Indiana Pacers, the Miami Heat found themselves in a similar situation against the Philadelphia 76ers. And just like the Pacers game, Miami found a way to come away with the victory. With a Tobias Harris missed a three-pointer at the buzzer, the Heat escaped with a 117-116 win to improve to 24-8 on the season.
Here are my takeaways from Saturday’s home win vs the 76ers.
Jimmy Finding Other Ways to Impact the Game
For the past two games, Jimmy Butler has shot 10 of 32 from the field. This season he’s shooting 42.6 percent from the field, which would be his worst shooting percentage since shooting 39.7 percent in his third season. Despite his shooting struggles, Jimmy Butler continues to find ways to make an impact. His ability to put pressure on the defense and draw fouls helps the team a lot. Butler finished with a team-high 25 points on 7-21 shooting from the field.
However, most of his points came from the free-throw line, where he shot 11 of 14 from the charity stripe. For the season, Butler is shooting 83 percent from the free-throw line.
Tyler Herro Showing He’s Ready for Big Moments
When the Heat drafted Tyler Herro this past summer, there were some questions about whether he could make an impact with the Heat. Just 32 games into his NBA career, Herro is proving he’s more than capable of making an impact. Herro has quickly become a Heat fan favorite with his three-point shooting ability and his ankle-breaking dribbling. And he plays with a lot of confidence too. Just watch the video below.
TYLER HERRO!!!!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/Y9LzOen2V8
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) December 29, 2019
Herro finished with 16 points on 4-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc.
Heat Zone Yields Mixed Results
The last time the Heat faced the 76ers, Miami went with a 2-3 zone and it changed the momentum of the game. The move clearly caught Philadelphia off guard. The Heat used the zone again against the Sixers, but it yielded mixed results. On some possessions, the 76ers successfully scored in the middle of the zone. And twice in overtime, Ben Simmons connected on alley-oop dunks.
Next up: The Heat take on the Washington Wizards on Monday. Game tips off at 7pm ET.
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