MIAMI (AP) — Rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 31 points and recorded his first double-double, Bam Adebayo finished with 26 points and 15 rebounds and the Miami Heat beat the Philadelphia 76ers 119-113 on Monday night.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra improved to 9-0 on Christmas, the best record in NBA history for head coaches on the holiday.
Tyler Herro scored 22 points, Duncan Robinson added 16 and Kyle Lowry had 12 for the Heat in its first Christmas win. Jaquez also grabbed 10 rebounds for Miami, which had a 56-36 edge on the boards.
Reigning MVP and two-time defending champion Joel Embiid missed the game for Philadelphia with a sprained ankle. Tobias Harris scored 27 points for the 76ers and Kelly Oubre Jr. added 25. Mo Bamba scored 18, De'Anthony Melton had 15 and Tyrese Maxey – who shot 4-for-20 from the floor – finished with 12.
The Heat were again without Jimmy Butler (calf strain) and were also without Josh Richardson (back problem) and Haywood Highsmith (no COVID illness) – then lost starting forward Caleb Martin to a sprained ankle in the first half.
After three quarters the score was 86-86, a score that suggests it had been mostly close up to that point.
That was not the case.
There were wild ups and downs, Philadelphia started hot, then Miami built a big lead and the 76ers didn't even need a full quarter to erase their 21-point lead over the Heat. But Jaquez and Adebayo each had 10 points in the fourth period and the Heat held on.
Herro (16), Adebayo (14) and Jaquez Jr. (14) combined for 44 points in the first half, with Miami managing a 27-point turnaround in 16 minutes – from trailing by 10 midway through the first quarter to 14 End of the second on 17.
It was an unforgettable first half for Maxey, who missed all nine of his shots, which was by far the worst shot attempt of his career in the first half. And to be fair, the rest of the 76ers weren't particularly successful in the first two quarters.
They took a 21-12 lead and then missed the next 14 shots from the floor, allowing Miami to go on a 21-1 run in that period. The lead was 63-49 at halftime, and the Heat then scored the first seven points of the third period to extend the lead to 21.
NEXT
76ers: Visit Orlando on Wednesday.
Heat: Visit Golden State on Thursday.
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