Tyrese Maxey scored 37 points, with Joel Embiid contributing 29 as the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Miami Heat 109-105 on Thursday night, intensifying the competition in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Maxey came close to achieving a triple-double, tallying 11 assists and nine rebounds for Philadelphia. Kelly Oubre Jr. also played a key role, scoring 18 points for the 76ers, who now sit just half a game behind Miami for the seventh spot in the East.
On the Miami side, Terry Rozier led with 22 points, followed by Jimmy Butler with 20. Despite their efforts, Miami, previously sixth in the East, slipped back to seventh, relinquishing the spot to Indiana.
Other contributions came from Bam Adebayo with 14 points, Haywood Highsmith with 12, Kevin Love with 11 points and 16 rebounds off the bench, and Nikola Jokić with 11 points.
Embiid, playing his second game since returning from a two-month absence due to knee surgery, went 11 for 25 from the field. Despite his efforts, the 76ers were outscored by 19 points during his 32-plus minutes on the court.
