The Miami Heat never truly got their game going, and even the return of starting point guard Kyle Lowry wasn’t nearly enough to counter the return of Joel Embiid in a disappointing 99-79 Game 3 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night.
Philadelphia was the better team tonight in a must-win game for them, playing more cohesively but clearly boosted by not just the return of the MVP candidate and leading scorer in the NBA regular season but also their bench for the first time this series. While the game wasn’t a blowout the way the final score would indicate, the home team was in control throughout the night and they made winning plays any team Miami appeared to gain any momentum.