At halftime of their play-in game against the Miami Heat on Wednesday, the Sixers were down 12 points and Joel Embiid had only 10 points on 2-of-8 shooting. He was a minus-14, trailing only Nicolas Batum (minus-17) for the team’s worst mark in the first half.
The Sixers trimmed the Heat’s lead to five heading into the fourth quarter, but Embiid entered the final period with only 12 points on 3-of-12 shooting. Tyrese Maxey hadn’t been much better with 13 points on 5-of-13 period through the first three quarters. With the Sixers’ two stars struggling, Batum and Buddy Hield helped key the team’s turnaround with an 11-2 run of their own.