Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Heat let go of the rope in the final minute against the short-staffed 76ers in Philadelphia

Bam Adebayo and Co. climbed out of a 17-point second-half deficit to tie late, but the “Hardest working. Best Conditioned…Nastiest Team in the NBA” was gassed, physically and mentally.

Jimmy Butler (foot), Tyler Herro (foot), Kevin Love (heel) and Nikola Jović (hamstring) were absent for the Heat. The 76ers were missing Joel Embiid (knee), Robert Covington (knee) and De’Anthony Melton (back).

The hosts rattled off 31 first-quarter points, 17 belonging to Maxey from multiple 3-point makes, three mid-range jumpers and a reverse layup in transition. Kelly Oubre Jr. added six points on three of four shots. And the rest of the 76ers made 30% of their attempts in the frame.

For the Heat, the biggest issue early aside from getting ripped by Maxey and Oubre, was the four turnovers by way of incautious passing. But Adebayo swished a jumper at the nail, dashed to the rim on the right side, running an inverted pick-and-roll set with Duncan Robinson, made a right corner triple when the 76ers dared him to shoot and put back Delon Wright’s missed layup. He also dished out four dimes to Jaime Jaquez Jr., Terry Rozier and Haywood Highsmith.

After 12 minutes, the Heat was down 23-31.

Next, the Heat’s zone contained Maxey to zero field goals in four tries using the zone. Needless to say, former Heatle Kyle Lowry played all of the second quarter. He notched eight points on three of five baskets with three rebounds, and a block on Thomas Bryant’s drive in the lane while defending as the low man. And Oubre, pulled down five boards, splashed two right-side trays and dribbled into the paint for a turnaround jumper over Caleb Martin.

The Heat responded with 26 points on 43.5% shooting. Delon Wright, Patty Mills, Thomas Bryant, Jaquez and Martin combined for two of 11 ventures. Yet, Rozier finished a two-footer in transition, dusted Oubre going left, dropping a floater and making a step-back top-of-the-key triple after pump-faking Lowry to the side.

On top of that, Adebayo, with 6-foot-6 KJ Martin on his back, connected on a turnaround lefty hook and made a fadeaway banker over Mohamed Bamba. And Highsmith contributed five points.

At halftime, the Heat was behind 49-51 but up on the glass by six. The group picked up 24 paint points, nine on the break, eight via second chances, four after turnovers and nine from the bench.

Adebayo had 13 points on an unblemished six attempts, with nine boards and five assists. Rozier supplied 10 to the scoreboard on 40% accuracy, with five rebounds. Highsmith put up eight points and two rebounds. And Jaquez added seven to his ledger with three assists and four rebounds.

The 76ers had 18 interior points, nine in the open court, two on extra tries, 10 after turnovers and six from the reserves.

Maxey logged 18 points on six of 13 shots with four rebounds and five assists. Oubre produced 14 points, making 60% of looks, plus picked up five boards. And Lowry had eight on his card.

In the third, the Heat fell into a 17-point gutter five minutes in when Oubre cut up the baseline for a catch and dunk. Containing Maxey was a problem, too. Before the deficit bloated to its peak in the quarter, he beat a double going to the cup for a layup, scored on the break and registered a transition three. Before it ended, he filed two more mid-range jumpers. Bamba and Buddy Hield also provided 10 points on a pristine four attempts.

On the visiting side, Adebayo wasted three possessions, turning it over, but he was the only one to record multiple field goals in the third. After floating in a basket in the paint and making two freebies, he sank a catch-and-shoot transition bomb.

Moreover, Rozier misfired against a switch and double in pick and roll and failed attacking in transition and from the corner. The other Heatles added nine points, but the crew was outscored by a dozen in the sequence, entering the fourth down by 14.

Robinson did not check in for the fourth because of a back discomfort.

Then, the Heat went on a 20-6 run five minutes into the period. In that span, Bryant made a left-wing triple and floater in the paint. Patty Mills dispensed a three. And Rozier successfully blasted away at the nail and twice at the top of the key. That was done as Adebayo caught a breather on the bench. Coach Erik Spoelstra subbed him back for Bryant with nearly half the quarter left, but he was invisible the rest of the match.

Subsequently, JJJ missed four shots in the last few minutes. He failed to fade to over Lowry in the post, got denied twice at close range by Oubre and bricked a critical left-corner three that would have kept the Heat’s ember burning with 20 seconds left.

As the Heat stalled out in the last three minutes, Lowry broke the zone with a deep shot, putting the 76ers back up by four. Then, Oubre caused damage, slicing past JJJ on the baseline for a bucket. And Lowry got one more jab in, dribbling past Rozier into the lane for a scoop plus score off the glass.

Martin’s putback dunk with 75 seconds left, cutting the disadvantage to four, was as far as the visitors went.

The squad lost 91-98. It produced 38 paint points, 15 on the break, 15 via second chances, 14 after turnovers, 28 from the bench and converted 39.3% of attempts.

Adebayo finished with 20 points on eight of 10 ventures, with 13 rebounds and six assists. Rozier scored 20 points on 38.1% shooting and added eight rebounds and one assist. Martin dropped 13 on his ledger, with four steals. Highsmith and Bryant had 11 points apiece.

The 76ers had 38 interior points, 19 in the open court, four on extra tries, 19 after turnovers, 20 from the reserves and made 43.5% of shots.

Maxey recorded 30 points on 11 of 24 attempts and had eight boards and 10 dimes. Oubre tallied 22 points on 52.9% shooting, 11 rebounds and five blocks. And Lowry delivered 16 points and four rebounds.

At the postgame presser, Spoelstra was asked about Robinson. He said, “Duncan couldn’t move coming into the game… Even when he was in there, it was a fraction of what he can normally do, just in terms of how he can move defenses around.”

In the locker room, Rozier said, “It was definitely tough when we weren’t hitting our shots and then it kind of translated with our defense. Coach had to remind us what we are here for… We just got the short end of the stick tonight.”

Adebayo said, “We just got stagnant and the ball wasn’t moving.”

The Heat will not practice on Tuesday.

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