Miami Heat Respond In Game 5 For Coast To Coast Win, 120-85

The Miami Heat knew they had to respond big in Game 5 of their second-round NBA Playoffs series against the Philadelphia 76ers. With the return of Joel Embiid in Game 3 as the 76ers also returned home to Philly, the 76er team got a jolt and rode that energy to two straight victories in the Wells Fargo Center.

Though the Miami Heat got two gargantuan performances from Jimmy Butler, doing it all for his team, they couldn’t come away with either of those victories. That was, in large part, due to their three-point and overall offensive ineptitude in each of those contests.

That was also an extreme point of interest heading into Tuesday’s Game 5. According to the announcers calling the game, Turner Sports’ Spero Dedes and Grant Hill, Coach Spoelstra actually would give his team off of practice on Monday, instead opting for a Tuesday morning shootaround to get the shooting fine-tuned.

It must’ve worked too, as the Miami Heat came out a made shots Tuesday.

The Miami Heat are now just one game away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals. With a resurgent Game 5, they would win going away.

Shooting 13-33 from range, 39.4 percent collectively, they would nearly outpace their combined three-point makes totals from both Games 3 and 4.

Though Jimmy Butler wouldn’t be as high-output as he was in the previous two games, thankfully he didn’t have to be with the renewed team shooting, he would still do the heavy lifting.

Getting the Heat out to a good start to the night, along with Max Strus, Jimmy would also be a huge part of closing the door on the Sixers. To be completely clear about it all, this was a domination of the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Miami Heat led the game from wire to wire, never allowing Philadelphia to get a footing in the contest. They would do so while never really allowing Joel Embiid or James Harden to truly get off.

The Miami Heat would only allow 31 points combined between Philadelphia’s two best players. Harden would finish with 14 points, six rebounds, and four assists.

Embiid would finish with 17 points, five rebounds, and two assists. The Miami Heat now have to win one of the next two games though to finish this thing.

With one in Philly and one at home, they should stand a great chance to get it done. However, you’d feel best if they handled their business more sooner than later against this team and their two stars.

Either way and until Thursday, Game 5 was the ultimate success.