Terry Rozier’s off-the-bench Heat debut was quiet, and the offense struggled to score, looking worse at times than what it was with Kyle Lowry, who was booted with a first-round pick to Charlotte. Following the first half, the scoreboard highlighted 49-42 in favor of the Grizzlies.

In the first quarter, the only things working were a pair of Jimmy Butler paint attacks. Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo executed two-man actions. And Haywood Highsmith gave a jolt on offense with a transition hook and triple.

The Heat’s new point guard, Terry Rozier, was subbed eight-and-a-half minutes in. His first points in a Heat jersey came at the line after getting fouled in transition, plus he added two rebounds. His one miss was a left-handed layup through the middle over Jaren Jackson Jr.’s help defense.

Defensively, the Heat permitted the Grizzlies five of 12 trifectas because of late switches in man coverage, ball movement dicing the zone and the on-ball defender going under the screen. One basket was allowed inside the arc. Bam Adebayo hounded Jackson, blocking two hooks in the lane, and the rest of the team contested cleanly, giving up only 21 points.

In the second quarter, Rozier relocated to the corner after dribbling into the paint for a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer, his only field goal of the half. But he failed on two drive-bys- isolating David Roddy on the left side and misfiring on a pick-and-roll layup because of Jackson, the low man’s presence. Mostly, he looked like someone just traded to a new squad who isn’t trying to step on anybody’s toes on offense- a mistake because that’s not why they got him.

Butler downshifted to third gear, passing up an opportunity to draw contact with Jackson at the rim on a transition drive, instead passing out to the corner. In nearly eight minutes of the frame, he made one of two buckets at the right corner and two free throws while the squad was desperate for someone to take over. The rest of the Heatles registered 20% of tries.

At halftime, the Heat was down seven on the scoring ledger, behind on the glass by two, with eight fastbreak points, two via second opportunities and nine from turnovers. The offense was pathetic, logging 72.7 points per 100 half-court plays, good enough for the second percentile of all games this season, per cleaning the glass.

Butler had nine points on three of seven shots. Adebayo had six on the scorecard on 20% of attempts but supplied six boards, the two aforementioned rejections and three dimes. Tyler Herro had seven points and four negligent turnovers.

On the other side, the Grizzlies converted 10 of 21 triples. Vince Williams had 13 points, torching the corners and beating Rozier on a hard closeout to get into the paint for a layup. GG Jackson had 11 points, burning the Heat’s transition defense from long range, rolled to the rim and made three free throws.

In the third quarter, two horrific passes by Butler- inbounding the ball and passing while in the air, not knowing where to go- resulted in a three-pointer and a fastbreak score for the Grizzlies. Offensively, he made four freebies and rolled to the rim, bumping Roddy away for a bucket.

Adebayo had three blocks- chasing down Jackson and denying him twice in iso- with six points and five rebounds.

Herro maneuvered inside for a pull-up jumper against man coverage, another facing the zone and connected on a reverse layup and floater.

Rozier had two assists, a turnover, a miss and a rebound.

In the fourth quarter, Caleb Martin was the high Heatle, making all four baskets. Rozier broke Xavier Tillman down with his dribble for a left-handed scoop layup and made a right-hander against Jackson in drop coverage. But he missed his three 3-point ventures.

For the Grizzlies, Williams dribbled by Butler, nailing a floater over Adebayo and splashed a left-corner triple when left unattended. Jackson drove past Butler for a layup when the switch created a mismatch and jolted Adebayo backward on a drive, hitting a jump hook. And Scotty Pippen Jr. beat Rozier from the top to the cup for a deuce, had a fastbreak score, and dusted Martin off a switch to the rim.

Despite the Heat having its most efficient quarter late, it had 17 turnovers and lost 96-105. The squad spent 17.3% of the time in transition, yet it only added .7 points per 100 of those possessions, good enough for the 35 percentile of all games this season, per CTG.

The Heat were behind in fastbreak points 13-21, down in second chance opportunities 6-11, and trailing in points off turnovers 14-24.

Butler had 15 points on four of 10 tries. Rozier ended with nine on 27.3% shooting.

Memphis’ Williams had 25 on the scorecard on 80% of attempts.

At the postgame presser, coach Erik Spoelstra praised Adebayo’s defensive effort, saying, “It’s just a shame we couldn’t turn those kinds of defensive performances into one of those ugly wins we really like.”

When asked about how Rozier works with Herro, he said it was tough to get excited, considering the loss was a buzzkill. He added, “I definitely see the possibilities with those two guys…We’ll really be able to build on that chemistry that we just quickly saw tonight. And they’ll get a ton of more minutes together, so it will happen one way or another.”

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Reigning MVP Joel Embiid bolstered his case to keep his crown with the 14th 70-piece in NBA history. It was like watching a nuclear bomb go off at a test site, the collateral damage being the French Usurper and the San Antonio Spurs.

Embiid needed 35 seconds to draw a foul on rookie Julian Champagnie at the top of the key for switching carelessly, then canned three freebies. Next, he faced off with Victor Wembanyama, pulling up in front of him at the nail for a deuce.

Yet, not even three minutes in, the visitors led 14-5, as Wemby attempted to seduce the Philadelphia crowd with a successfully contested jumper against Embiid and a pull-up triple at the top. But the 76ers stormed to an 11-2 run playing through Embiid, exposing the left corner, attacking hard closeouts and dunking in transition to force Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to call timeout.

Embiid logged a dozen extra points in the first quarter. He bumped Wemby inside for a dunk, overpowered Zach Collins before and after the catch for a layup plus hit a pull-up jumper at the nail covered by him, made two putbacks and connected on a four-foot shot in between three defenders.

The Phantom of the Process supplied 10 more points in the second quarter, shooting over Wembanyama and crashing into off-positioned help defenders for a trip to the charity line. He also drew the third foul of the half on the Spurs’ rookie center while posting him up.

Conversely, the Spurs were converting 40.9% of baskets for the frame, but Wembanyama had eight of its points, including a post-up then finger roll over Embiid.

At halftime, Embiid had 34 of the 76ers’ 62 points and 10 of its 27 rebounds. Additionally, the hosts racked up 38 marks in the paint, seven on the break, 12 off second opportunities and four via turnovers. Harris was the next leading scorer with eight on just as many tries.

The Spurs had 58 on the scoring ledger, with 10 on the break, three on second attempts and four from turnovers. Eighteen came from Wembanyama on seven of 11 shots. Devin Vassell was his partner in action with 12 points, making 62.5% of field goals.

In the third, Embiid kept ripping through defenses in the paint and hoisting over them at mid-range. His only misses were against Wembanyama at the elbow and paint and a double team under the rim. He finished the quarter with 10 of 15 baskets (25). The rest of the squad dropped six.

Embiid entered the fourth sequence with 59 on the scorecard, then accumulated 11 more, shooting over Jeremy Sochan twice at mid-range, plowing for a layup in transition and swishing five more free throws.

Wembanyama countered with a hook and a putback, and the rest of his team closed with 11 of 23 buckets, but it wasn’t sufficient. The 76ers were up 15 points at the start of it and were just outscored by five in the last 12 minutes.

The 76ers won 133-123, improving to a 29-13 record- a half-game behind the Milwaukee Bucks for second place in the East. Embiid had 70 points, making 58.5% of his tries, with 18 rebounds, five assists, a block and a steal.

Wembanyama had 33 points on 10 of 19 shots with seven rebounds.

The only other players to score as many points or more as Embiid are Wilt Chamberlain (100), Kobe Bryant (81), David Thompson (73), Elgin Baylor (71), Damian Lillard (71), Donovan Mitchell (71), David Robinson, (71) and Devin Booker (70). (Chamberlain broke 70 on six occasions.)

Embiid embraced teammates, former 76ers coach (currently a Spurs assistant) Brett Brown, then handled the on-court interview with Dennis Scott. While answering a question about Brown, he was interrupted by teammates pouring water on his head, affectionately cooling him off his heater.

This caused Scott to forget his first question and ask about the personal record. Sopping, Embiid said, “unselfish teammates got me the ball. I was hot, and they made sure to put me in the best position.”

At the postgame press conference, 76ers coach Nick Nurse said that when “he gets motivated like that, anything can happen.”

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Nobody from the Atlanta Hawks was chopped down in Udonis Haslem’s honor, but the Miami Heat recognized its former captain with his jersey retirement in front of past and current teammates and got silenced by the visitors in the last two seconds. (Jaime Jaquez Jr. was absent for the Heat with a left groin strain, and Trae Young and De’Andre Hunter were out for the Hawks with an undisclosed illness and right knee inflammation.)

The offense, aside from Jimmy Butler’s multiple putbacks and dunk past Saddiq Bey, was in a rut to start, again, converting 10 of 27 baskets. And the Heat fell behind 24-32 after 12 minutes because it conceded two second-chance opportunities, seven points off turnovers and five triples.

In the second quarter, Duncan Robinson connected on three of four 3-pointers on a handoff against drop coverage, a closely contested left-wing jumper and an opening in the corner.

Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and Butler combined for 28 points on 55% shooting in the first half. Yet Dejounte Murray killed the Heat’s defenses, popping on the side of a screen for a triple plus hitting another in the corner, dusting his cover in transition and maneuvering to the elbow for a jumper. Onyeka Okongwu, Johnson and Bey assisted him, logging nine of 17 buckets before intermission.

At halftime, the Heat was down 56-57, with three points scored on the break, a dozen on second tries and eight via turnovers. And here is where the Heat honored Haslem.

Some in attendance were Goran Dragić, Tim Hardaway, Ron Rothstein, Shane Battier, Mario Chalmers, Dwyane Wade, Alonzo Mourning, Quentin Richardson, Jason Williams and Dorell Wright.

Team president Pat Riley addressed the crowd, thanking UD for his service. “Udonis Haslem. His force mattered and it counted, and that’s one of the reasons why we’re hanging his jersey here [tonight].”

Then Haslem spoke from the heart, expressing gratitude to colleagues, coaches, friends and family.

In the third quarter, Herro swished the Heat’s only pair of triples out of eight attempts, cut back door for a layup and blew by Patty Mills for an inside finish. Adebayo burst into the paint for a dunk, broke down Capela from the top to the cup for a bank shot and nailed four freebies.

Then Bogdan Bogdanović erupted for the Hawks in the fourth with eight points, coming from a triple behind a flare screen, another on the left side after setting the pick and two free throws. Bey contributed seven points, too, and Mills, Murray and Garrison Mathews each supplied a triple.

In the last two minutes for the Heat, Butler burned Johnson from the left wing to the hoop for a dunk, then hit a floater with contact over Bey. Next, Adebayo nailed a turnaround jumper over Capela in the lane to push the lead to three points.

Subsequently, Capela registered two free throws after Adebayo fouled him, but Herro responded with a tray to put the Heat back up by four with 36 seconds left.

The game should have been over, but afterwards, Richardson fouled Bogdanović on the inbound, sending him to the line for two. He made both.

With 30 seconds left and up two points, the Heat killed the clock on an isolation play for Herro, defended by Johnson that resulted in a failed baseline shot. Murray picked up the rebound, dribbled up the court, and pulled up from 27 feet out in Caleb Martin’s face to take a one-point advantage. That basket was also his only one of the period.

Timeout Heat.

With two seconds left, the ball was inbounded to Butler, he passed to Martin, and the Heat failed to get up a try in time.

The Heat lost 108-109, recording nine fastbreak points, 14 through second chances, 19 via turnovers and six extra rebounds. Butler had 25 on his scorecard on eight of 10 attempts. Herro also had 25 on 55% shooting.

The Hawks scored 22 points from turnovers and 17 on additional opportunities. Murray dropped 22 points, 11 assists and three boards.

At the postgame presser, coach Erik Spoelstra said the final possession was “One of those plays when I’m going through it in my head, there’s going to be an advantage in that corner, and it just didn’t play out that way… It was a poor play call. I’m disappointed in my call on that.”

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Since ESPN’s fraudulent Emmy scheme was uncovered, the former “worldwide leader” has tried to bob and weave its way out of accountability.

The Athletic’s Katie Strang broke the story that ESPN abused the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ (NATAS) rules so that on-air talent could have an ineligible prize. NATAS has since banned Craig Lazarus- VP and exec producer of content, and Lee Fitting- senior VP of production (who left ESPN in August). Yet ESPN hasn’t confirmed who concocted the scheme, how it will keep public trust, or if the wronged will be compensated.

The lack of transparency is a massive middle finger to its audience, who deserves to know what people there can’t be trusted. ESPN should expose these cretins to save its reputation or industry standards, but it won’t. Keeping an in-house disaster that the public knows about quiet is the priority. But keep calm. Those perps were disciplined, ESPN assured in its press release.

Employees such as Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, Chris Fowler, Desmond Howard and Samantha Ponder, were involuntarily involved in this through the deception of the higher-ups. Imagine the disappointment of waking up to a call from your boss or someone else of authority saying your skills didn’t bring home that award. And to put it in a nice box. That’s what happened to this crop of talent and others.

No doubt, it was a huge confidence boost to some (maybe all) of the people who were misled, and there was even one who gifted her prize to a friend. Putting her in a position to ask for it back is greasy and tough to forgive.

ESPN should offer those wronged restitution for this disrespect. The deceived talent wouldn’t spend too much time on the market if they were available.

While not the exact action, this theft should be demonized as seriously as plagiarism. When any media member steals another’s work and is caught, they are not protected by their employer but rather excommunicated. Not offering specifics on the punishment of the culprits is a mistake because ESPN is considered an example by various university professors lecturing their students around the country.

Future orations in academia should include a disclaimer, “Don’t worry, if you get powerful enough, you can wild out as much as you want without serious repercussions.”

Worldwide suckers.