Dwyane Wade snuffed out one 76ers‘ rally by popping a 16-foot fadeaway with the shot clock ticking down. Wade made a halfhearted attempt at reaching his hand out toward a fallen defender before he scooted on his way.
Wade was up
James Daniels Jersey , the Sixers were down and suddenly, a series.
The Heat had to have this one – a brooding Joel Embiid is angling for a comeback.
Wade turned in a vintage performance, scoring 28 points to end the 76ers’ 17-game winning streak and lead the Miami Heat to a 113-103 Game 2 win over Philadelphia on Monday night and even the first-round playoff series.
”It’s just in my DNA,” Wade said. ”I love the stage.”
The 36-year-old flashed the form of a three-time NBA champion with the Heat, not the journeyman who bounced around the last two seasons with forgettable stints in Chicago and Cleveland.
Wade made 11 of 17 shots and put on a show in the second quarter and put it away in the fourth.
”I saw moments,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. ”That’s what defines Dwyane Wade.”
The 76ers could soon get their defining Process moment from Embiid.
The Sixers sorely needed Embiid, their All-Star center out with a broken orbital bone, to settle them as they fell in a quick a 16-point hole.
The Sixers lost for the first time since March 13 to Indiana. They won 16 straight to end the regular season and the first game of the playoffs and played their 10th straight game without Embiid.
”You need Joel Embiid,” Sixers coach Brett Brown said.
Embiid went on Instagram after the game and wrote, ”sick and tired of being babied.”
Pack the black mask for Miami.
”Joel is a superstar. Of course we’re missing him offensively, defensively,” Sixers forward Dario Saric said. ”He’s a guy who wants to play all the time. I can’t wait for Joel to come back and help us because we’re a better team with him.”
Even without Embiid
Josh Gordon Jersey , the Sixers trimmed the lead to two points late in the fourth.
Philly fans were going wild and suddenly the home-court edge that had made the Sixers unbeatable for a month seemed like it would perk the team back up for one more notch on the winning streak.
Not so fast.
Ersan Ilyasova made a tip shot to close to 98-96 but Wade answered and stripped Saric and finished on the other end with a basket that steadied the Heat.
The series shifts to Miami for Game 3 on Thursday.
Wade’s play resembled his glory days at times and he carried the Heat in a sensational second quarter that was the difference. He pump-faked his way to 15 points in the quarter – impressive enough, even moreso that he outscored the potent Sixers by two points.
Wade made his first seven shots of the game and passed Larry Bird for 10th on the NBA’s career postseason scoring list.
”I play the game for these moments,” Wade said.
After a Game 1 victory where they couldn’t miss, the Sixers couldn’t make a big bucket in the first half. The Sixers made a team playoff-record 18 3s in Game 1 and missed a whopping 16 of 18 3s in the first half.
The Heat slowed the game down – exactly the kind of style where the Sixers needed Embiid in the middle – and used a collective of defenders on Ben Simmons that rattled the rookie point guard early.
The passing-and-pushing offense that got the Sixers to the No. 3 seed in the East failed them for the first time since early March.
But there was life left in the fourth.
Saric was fouled by Wade and sank both from the line to make it 91-82 and he followed with a 3 the next time down that sent the crowd into a frenzy. Saric broke up a pass on defense that led to a Simmons dunk and suddenly 18 straight wins was within reach.
Wade contributed with baskets, assists and free throws over the final 4 minutes to close out the win.
”We played Game 1 like a regular-season game and tonight was a playoff game,” Wade said.
Simmons, who had a triple-double in the opener, led the Sixers with 24 points and Saric had 23.
”I hate this feeling but maybe it’s a good reminder for everybody for next game to lock in,” Simmons said.
TIP-INS
Heat: Goran Dragic scored 20 points and James Johnson had 18.
76ers: Philly native and Hollywood star Kevin Hart rang the ceremonial Liberty Bell and sat courtside a few seats down from Allen Iverson.
Wade said he was motivated by Hart’s trash talk. ”To be able to hush a crowd, that’s a great feeling,” Wade said.
LINEUP CHANGE
Ilyasova got the start at center for the first time in Embiid’s absence over Amir Johnson.
REMEMBERING GREER
The 76ers held a moment of silence for Hall of Famer Hal Greer. Greer died Saturday after a brief illness. He was 81. He’s the 76ers’ career leader in points, field goals
Blake Martinez Packers Jersey , field goals attempted, games and minutes played.
”He was a graceful man. He was class. He was a gentleman,” Brown said.
UP NEXT
Game 3 is Thursday and Game 4 is Saturday in Miami.
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It was the closest thing to a perfect scenario for the Red Sox: Eduardo Rodriguez on the mound against the lowly Baltimore Orioles.
Home runs by Rafael Devers and Andrew Benintendi helped Rodriguez win his fifth straight start, and Boston extended Baltimore’s losing streak to six games with a 6-4 victory Tuesday night.
Rodriguez (8-1) gave up two runs and eight hits over 5 2/3 innings to increase a career-best run of success that began on May 20 against the Orioles. Rodriguez is 3-0 this season against Baltimore, the team that gave the left-hander his first professional contract in 2010 and traded him to Boston in 2014.
”Eduardo was good. The next step for him is to go deeper into the game and keep that pitch count down,” manager Alex Cora said.
It took Rodriguez 109 pitches to get 17 outs, but he left with a 6-2 lead.
”I’m throwing the ball good and I want to keep on doing it,” Rodriguez said. ”The more wins you get, the closer you get to the playoffs.”
No team in the big leagues has more wins than Boston (46). The Red Sox are 12-1 in Rodriguez’s starts, including 5-0 on the road, and 8-1 overall against Baltimore.
Devers hit a two-run drive in the second inning and Benintendi connected in the third for a 3-1 lead. A bases-loaded walk and a run-scoring balk made it 5-2 in the fourth, and Boston coasted from there.
Joey Rickard homered for the Orioles
Da'Ron Payne Youth Jersey , who own the worst record in the big leagues (19-47) and have endured six losing streaks of at least five games.
Before Mark Trumbo doubled in two runs in the ninth, Baltimore was 1 for 11 with runners in scoring position. And despite that hit, the Orioles are 3 for 48 in that situation during their current skid.
Rookie pitcher David Hess (2-3) stumbled in his sixth big league start, allowing five runs, five hits and a career-high four walks in 3 1/3 innings.
”At the end of the day, if I execute some pitches a little bit better I think the results are different,” Hess said. ”But that’s a good lineup. You’ve got to be at your best going out there and tonight I wasn’t.”
Baltimore reliever Zach Britton made his season debut, six months after undergoing surgery for a ruptured right Achilles tendon. The lefty pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
”It almost felt like my debut, like an out-of-body experience,” Britton said. ”It was weird.”
TAKE A SEAT
Red Sox: OF Mookie Betts was held out of the starting lineup, one day after ending a 14-game stay on the disabled list with an abdominal strain. Cora said he didn’t want to push Betts so soon after his return, but intends to start him in Wednesday’s series finale.
Orioles: Struggling 1B Chris Davis (.150 batting average
Joe Namath Jersey Youth , 86 Ks) was benched and likely will also be held out of the starting lineup Wednesday, manager Buck Showalter said.
WELCOME, KID
The Orioles agreed to terms with first-round pick Grayson Rodriguez, a right-hander from Central Heights High School in Texas. Selected 11th overall, Rodriguez was introduced to the crowd in the fourth inning.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Red Sox: Relief pitcher Carson Smith, who hurt his shoulder last month when he threw his glove in the dugout after giving up a home run to Oakland’s Khris Davis, will have surgery Wednesday and could be lost for the season, Cora said. … There is no timetable for the return of 2B Dustin Pedroia (knee), a four-time All-Star who was placed on the disabled list June 2. The team will wait until the inflammation subsides before taking the next step.
Orioles: RHP Andrew Cashner was placed on the DL with back spasms. He’s expected to miss only one start. … SS Manny Machado returned to the lineup after sitting out with an illness Monday.
UP NEXT
Red Sox: Chris Sale (5-4, 2.83 ERA) tries to end a run of three straight losing starts on Wednesday.
Orioles: Baltimore takes another stab at becoming the final major league team to win 20 games in 2018. Yefry Ramirez will be recalled from Triple-A Norfolk to replace Cashner as the starter.
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