Maxey’s second-half explosion falls short as the Sixers drop Game 2 in Miami

Tonight, the Sixers lost Game 2 of their second round series to the Miami Heat, 119-103.

Here is a quarter-by-quarter running diary of notes on the game to serve as your recap.

Q1:

• DeAndre Jordan — despite being horrible at everything — is starting again. Should go great.
• Fewer than two minutes into the game, Adebayo gets an easy dunk.
• Good offense to start from the Sixers; nice ball movement in the early going.
• Jordan has converted a couple alley-oop dunks, but he’s hopeless on defense and everywhere else, also. He fouls Bam on an and-one dunk.
• In Jordan’s first run, the Sixers were plus-1. Let’s quit while we’re ahead! Hit the showers, DJ. Reed enters with 5 and change left in the quarter.
• Matisse does not look good in his first stint. Biting on every pump fake and fouling too much: erratic. He caught the ball on a leak-out and pulled it out, seemingly afraid to make a mistake.
• More first quarter Korkmaz minutes. God almighty.
• The Heat close the quarter on a 7-0 run. 31-24, Miami.

Q2:

• The Sixers start the quarter with a lineup that includes Georges Niang, Furkan Korkmaz and James Harden. Stops may be tough to come by.
• Harden is running into brick walls out there.
• Niang can’t buy a three. Thankfully, Korkmaz canned one.
• Herro cannot miss. Whenever the Sixers get close, he seems to hit a three that gets the Heat flirting with a double-digit lead.
• Every energy play is going to Miami. They seem to just be in another league completely. An Oladipo three opens up a 13-point lead for the home team.
• Signs of life by the Sixers! A couple Maxey buckets and, finally, Niang hits a three. They cut the deficit to five. Miami throws it out of bounds.
• On cue: a Herro three.
• Not a good half from Harris.
• Harden gets bailed out fouled shooting a three with .1 on the clock. Solid overall half for Harden, 16 points.
• 60-52, Miami.

Q3:

• A couple really nice buckets from Tobias to start the half.
• Oh yeah, Danny Green is in this series. He just missed everything on an attempted three.
• Every loose ball goes to Miami.
• Jordan’s drop coverage (he basically stands under the rim when guarding the pick-and-roll) cedes two points for the Heat every time. Killer.
• The Sixers can’t buy an open three.
• Largest lead of the game thus far for Miami with 7:00 left: 15.
• A Maxey and-one stops the bleeding. On a Sixers team so often devoid of burst and athleticism, Maxey sticks out. He’s trying to keep the Sixers in this one.
• Niang is getting killed defensively/on the boards.
• Would rather play Shake Milton than Thybulle in these series (or any series, these days). Herro is toying with Matisse out there, and if he can’t even be competitive guarding him, and continues to be a massive negative on offense, he holds no purpose on the court.
• The Heat are not some juggernaut. The Sixers are playing basically terribly, they can’t make a three, Joel Embiid is out, DeAndre Jordan is *starting* and they keep letting the Sixers hang around. Thanks to Tyrese Maxey, the Sixers are a good quarter away from somehow evening this series. 91-80, Miami.

Q4:

• The Heat start the quarter in a zone -> shot clock violation on the Sixers. Great start.
• Maxey has been phenomenal. Singlehandedly keeping the Sixers in this one as Harden has been MIA since halftime.
• Sixers go back to the center-less lineup with 8:23 left, down 10.
• Niang fouls out with 8:00 left. Six fouls in 10 minutes.
• Things are looking bad. Heat go up 13 with 7:00 left.
• Oh my. The Heat are up 18. This one is over. Regroup in Philly? Yeesh, I don’t know, you guys.
• A tiny Sixers spurt cuts the gap to 12, Miami calls TO. I refuse to regain hope.
• To no one’s surprise, offensive rebounds have killed the Sixers.
• Apart from a good second quarter, Harden has been invisible in this game. And overall, he was incredibly disappointing in two games in Miami when the Sixers badly needed him to pick up the slack with Embiid out.
• 119-103, Miami.