Sixers defeat the Heat, 124-114

The Sixers beat the Miami Heat, 124-114, tonight in South Beach for their second road win of the year. The Sixers could have won by 8,000 points, however, and all anyone would be talking about is the free throw. You know the one.

With 6:09 left in the 2nd quarter, Markelle Fultz stepped to the line after being fouled by Justise Winslow. Fultz made the first free throw, and then this happened:

Fultz double-clutched a free throw, a concerning development in the rehabilitation of his shot. A few moments after this shot, news broke on Twitter that Fultz and well-known “shot doctor” Drew Hanlen, had experienced a falling out and were no longer working together. The timing of this news, in addition to the actual shot, was so confounding that it was difficult to focus on much else.

Despite the Twitter firestorm that had been ignited, there were a number of performances on the court that stood out in a more positive manner. Joel Embiid continued to put up monster numbers, finishing with 35 points and 18 rebounds. He is averaging 28.2 point per game right now, good enough for 2nd in the league. He also shot 75% from beyond the arc, and 80% from the stripe on 20 trips.

JJ Redick also continued his hot start with 25 points. Redick is averaging almost 18 points a game, his career high. Maybe more impressively, he managed to hit a three with only one shoe on - talk about an all-time shooter.

Speaking of career highs, Furkan Korkmaz was the third player on the team to hit double digits, scoring 16 points and besting his career best by four.

Mike Muscala, or Maskala as I like to call him (h/t @gingermatt5), returned to the court after a three game absence due to a broken nose and severe facial laceration. He finished the game with 13 points and 8 rebounds.

It should be noted that this is probably the last game for the Sixers as we know them. Jimmy Butler will be introduced at the team’s facility in Camden tomorrow, and is thereafter expected to join the team in Orlando. The Sixers’ ‘Big 3’ era is upon us, folks.

Other Notes

Ben Simmons and Landry Shamet both finished in double figures. After being a surprise pick in this year’s draft, Shamet is proving to be a productive bench player.

The Sixers only had 9 turnovers, a season low.

Unfortunately, Joel Embiid was unable to foul Hassan Whiteside out. Whiteside finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 fouls. The Heat’s high scorer was Goran Dragic with 22 points.