With eight regular-season games remaining, the Sixers’ losing streak sits at seven.
Their latest loss came Saturday night at Wells Fargo Center against the Heat, who earned a 118-95 victory.
Jared Butler posted 19 points and 10 assists for the 23-51 Sixers.
All-Star Heat guard Tyler Herro had 30 points and seven assists for the Heat, who moved to 33-41.
The Sixers had eight players out with injuries. Andre Drummond (left toe sprain) will miss at least the next five games and be re-evaluated in approximately one week, according to a team official.
The Sixers will play the Raptors on Sunday night in Philadelphia. Here are observations on their defeat to the Heat:
An even 50 lineups
The Sixers added yet another unit to their ever-growing tally of starting lineups. They’re up to 50 after Butler, Quentin Grimes, Justin Edwards, Guerschon Yabusele and Adem Bona opened Saturday’s game.
A Butler-to-Bona alley-oop got the Sixers off to a bright start. Butler then drilled a jumper to give the Sixers a 5-0 lead.
Miami soon surged in front. Both the Sixers and Heat had identical first quarters shooting-wise — 55 percent from the field, 54.5 percent from three-point range — but the Heat drew more free throws.
Miami also did far greater damage on the offensive glass, scoring the night’s first 16 second-chance points. The Sixers entered Saturday ranked 24th in offensive rebounding rate and 30th rebounding rate, per Cleaning the Glass. They’re very familiar with the challenges of being undersized and undermanned.
Grimes finally held under 20
The Sixers mitigated some of their rebounding struggles with success in transition.
At halftime, they held an 18-6 advantage in fast-break points. Ricky Council IV (13 points, six rebounds, four assists) had several explosive, effective drives before the Heat’s defense could set up.
Bona (16 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks) was also eager to both start and join fast breaks. He tried to swat just about every Miami shot inside, ran the floor hard, and finished well around the rim.
The Sixers still trailed by nine points at halftime, in part because Grimes went scoreless in the second quarter after an 11-point first. Rookie Pelle Larsson played physical, solid defense against him, limiting Grimes’ chances to take comfortable jumpers or generally operate with much breathing room.
Grimes’ streak of consecutive outings with 20 or more points ended at nine games. He recorded 15 points on 6-for-14 shooting, four rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes.
Strong showing by Butler
Butler matched up at times with former Baylor teammate Davion Mitchell.
He played a high-quality game as the Sixers’ lead ball handler, running the show with confidence, hitting open teammates in the pick-and-roll, and making all four of his long-distance attempts.
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said pregame that he plans to give Grimes more point guard reps in the final stretch of the season, since the Sixers envision him as a player who can handle some backup ball handler minutes when everyone’s healthy. That makes perfect sense. Butler looks like he might be in the future backup point guard mix, too.
After a Butler runner cut the Sixers’ deficit to 72-69, the Heat took control of the game.
Former Sixer Alec Burks drained four three-pointers late in the third quarter, including a buzzer-beater that built Miami’s lead to 21 points.
The Heat cruised to victory from there. Miami’s poised to be a play-in tournament team. The Sixers, meanwhile, were officially eliminated from postseason contention with Saturday’s loss.
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