The product inside the Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday night was a prime example of why the NBA’s non-bubble pandemic season has been a struggle.
It’s also a reason why the league and the National Basketball Players Association agreed to additional measures to supplement the COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
The 76ers and the Miami Heat were both shells of themselves in a game that was far from the NBA standard. It will go down as a 137-134 overtime victory that snapped the Sixers’ three-game losing streak.
Joel Embiid and Danny Green were the difference in this one.
Embiid finished with game highs of 45 points, 16 rebounds and 5 steals for the Sixers (8-4). Twenty of his points came in the third quarter while making all eight of his shot a 4-for-4 from the foul line.
His 20-foot jumper with 4.3 seconds left in regulation knotted the score at 120.
Then he went on to score the Sixers’ first nine points in overtime. Then with his team leading 134-132, Embiid hit a pair of foul shots to make it a four-point game with 8.9 seconds left.
Duncan Robinson was fouled while attempting a three-pointers with 4.8 seconds remaining. He made the first two. Then on the third attempt, he tried to hit the ball off the rim. But the ball missed, and the Sixers were awarded the ball on a free throw violation.
The Sixers went to win by three after Andre Iguodala missed a desperation corner three at the buzzer.
Meanwhile, Green made a career high nine three-pointers en route to finishing with a season-high 29 points. His shooting effort erased memories from his shooting 0-for-9, missing seven three-pointers, in Monday’s loss at the Atlanta Hawks.
Ben Simmons finished with five points and 12 assists with 3 minutes, 29 seconds remaining. He only attempted two shots attempts after missing the past two games with swelling in his left knee.
Tyler Herro paced Miami with 34 points.
Yet, the Heat (4-5) had just eight available players compared to 10 for the Sixers, who played with nine Monday and seven Saturday.
A lot of that had to do with the league’s protocols. The Sixers had five players -- Seth Curry, Tobias Harris, Shake Milton, Matisse Thybulle, and Vincent Poirier -- sidelined due to them for the third consecutive game. The thought is that Harris, Milton, Thybulle, and Poirier will return for Saturday’s game at Memphis after missing seven days due to contract tracing for COVID-19. Curry, who tested positive for the coronavirus, will return for the Jan. 20 game against Boston, at the earliest.
Terrance Ferguson still away from the team attending to a family matter, while Furkan Korkmaz (left groin strain) will have his status determined before Saturday’s game.
But at least on Tuesday, the Sixers were able to play with three of their normal starters in Embiid, Ben Simmons and Green. They were joined by Mike Scott and rookie Tyrese Maxey in the starting lineup.
Meanwhile, the Heat weren’t as fortunate.
They were without All-Stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo in addition to six other players due to protocols. Another player, Miles Leonard, was sidelined with a strained left shoulder.
This was the Heat’s first game after having Sunday’s scheduled game at Boston postponed. That was one of five NBA games postponed this season due to a team not having the minimum eight players available because of the protocols or injuries. The Celtics have been involved in three of them.
That’s a not good thing, considering Tuesday marked the 23rd day of the 2020-21 season. In response to the uptick of NBA teams requiring player quarantines, the league released new measures on Tuesday.
Some of them involve players and team staff being required to remain in their residence for the next two weeks while in the home market. Also for the next two weeks, pregame meetings in the locker room are limited to 10 minutes and participants must wear masks. Teams must also submit a seating plan on planes to ensure that players who sit closest to each other in games are doing the same on the planes.
Another new measure involves players being prohibited from arriving at the arena more than three hours before tip-off. Players must also limit interactions to elbow or fist bumps before and after games. They must also wear masks on the bench at all times and stay at least 6 feet apart.
It appears the league is attempting to do everything it can to duplicate the bubble it had last summer at the 2019-20 season restart in Kissimmee, Fla., without actually being in a bubble.
“All I can do is hope,” Sixers coach Doc Rivers said. “The league, the way they ran the bubble was fantastic. ... Listen, we are not in a bubble. I don’t care how many times we call it a bubble, we are in cities. So we just have to do our best, everyone.
“You know, obviously, everyone actually [is] doing their best and we’re still getting it. So I think we just have to be more careful.”
Rivers isn’t concerned with the rules about no chest pumps. He doesn’t think that’s the reason the coronavirus is spreading. He thinks it’s being contacted from the outside of the basketball setting and being brought inside.
“So we just have to be more vigilant when we are away from arenas and practice facilities,” Rivers said, “because I think that’s the safest place you can be. When we walk outside is when the real world comes into our level.”
