The Sixers will try to avoid elimination Thursday night
• 2 min read
After putting together a dominant performance in Game 5, the Miami Heat will try to bring that success on the road when they try to close out the Philadelphia 76ers Thursday night. With one win separating the Heat and their second trip to the Eastern Conference finals in three years, there will surely be plenty of motivation to finish this series in Game 6. On the other side of this matchup, Joel Embiid and the Sixers hope they can generate some more magic at home and steal another win from the top-seeded Heat. With Embiid battling several injuries, he’ll need some significant help from his teammates to force a Game 7.
In preparation for Game 6, here’s everything you need to know.
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(1) Miami Heat vs. (4) Philadelphia 76ers
- When: Thursday, May 12 | 7 p.m. ET
- Where: Wells Fargo Center — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- TV: ESPN | Live stream: fuboTV
- Odds: PHI -135; MIA +115; O/U 207 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
Featured Game | Philadelphia 76ers vs. Miami Heat
Storylines
Heat: Miami found its offense again after a short disappearance on the road, and it resulted in a blowout win in Game 5. Jimmy Butler finished with 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists, and newfound diamond in the rough Max Strus added on 19 points and 10 rebounds. But it wasn’t just those two leading the charge for Heat. After struggling to hit 3s on the road, Miami shot 39.4 percent from 3-point range, with seven different players knocking in a triple during the game. If that offense shows up in Philadelphia, Miami should feel pretty good about its chances to end this series on Thursday.
Sixers: Nothing went right for the Sixers in Game 5, and they’ll have to hope they can conjure up some of that home cooking to send this to a Game 7. Philly simply needs more out of James Harden with Embiid taking hit after hit while battling with multiple injuries. The same goes for Tobias Harris, who finished Game 5 with just 12 points on 5 of 14 from the field. Luckily, the Sixers have won both home games in this series, so there’s a sliver of hope that this team can perform better and sneak out a win.
Prediction
This is another series where the home team is winning every game, and until either of these teams strays from that pattern, I’m going with the home team again. I think after Game 5’s terrible performance, the Sixers will be eager to prove that was just a fluke and not indicative of what this team can actually be. The pick: Sixers ML
