Another ugly third quarter, another candidate for worst loss of the season

The Sixers built their lead to as large as 19 but somehow couldn’t put down a tired Heat team in another miserable loss Monday.

What a mess.

The Sixers got crushed after another disastrous third quarter, falling 106-89 to the Miami Heat Monday night.

Despite being listed as doubtful with an illness, Joel Embiid was available tonight, but he didn’t look all that different from his first two games. He finished with 11 points, shooting just 5-of-11 from the field along with eight rebounds and five assists.

Once again in the starting lineup, Jared McCain led the Sixers in scoring with 20 points. He shot 8-of-16 from the floor. Paul George finished with 18 points on 5-of-13 shooting. Jimmy Butler led all scorers with 30 in his first game back since Nov. 8.

Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.

First Quarter

• It was a much better start for George, who made as many field goals in the first as he did the entire Orlando game Friday. He was also able to draw defenders to get Embiid a look or two near the basket, somewhere Embiid has struggled to get to so far.

• It took six minutes for someone other than Embiid or George to score when Caleb Martin got on the board with a couple of drives. Martin might have passed out of a couple three-point opportunities, but he did nail the wide open he got in the corner. He had seven points in his first quarter back in Miami.
• The Sixers got off to a bad start with turnovers. McCain in particular struggled with entry passes. However, they were able to flip that around by the end of the first. They ended the quarter with five steals which helped them go on a 12-2 run and lead by eight at the end of the first.

Second Quarter

• That really became an extended run across quarters, and the biggest reason for that was once again Jared McCain. He put those early turnovers behind by knocking down some threes and then opened up the second with some really nice drives. Yes, this is another rookie he does this to, but it’s just crazy how well he’s hanging with NBA defenses so far.

• As the quarter wore on the Sixers went cold and the Heat came right back. While the quarter wasn’t entirely on them, Kyle Lowry and Eric Gordon look pretty unplayable when their shot isn’t falling and neither of their shots are falling right now. They were a combined 1-of-6 from three.
• Again, to be fair to those two, the entire team shot 28% from three in the half. They would have given up the entire 19-point lead had Embiid not knocked one down from the wing, giving them a three-point lead at the half.

Third Quarter

• On the other end, Miami had made only four three-pointers themselves in the first half. It took them only five minutes of the second half to match that total though, retaking the lead in the process. With how hard the Sixers gamble for steals, threes, specifically from the corner, are going to be a concession of that. Miami took advantage of that in the third whereas the Sixers made just one three in the third.

• A concern about Embiid at the moment is that he’s yet to really try to attack the basket so far this season, and that was the case again through the first shift of the third. After those two early layups he had in the first, the next closest shot he had taken was an elbow jumper.
• Once again, a game well within grasp turned into a disaster in just a matter of minutes. The Sixers were held to one field goal over the final 4:57, a stretch that included some horrific turnovers as well. The quick fix was to try Guerschon Yabusele for the first time tonight, but the McCain-led second unit did not stop the run. The Sixers ended the third trailing by 16.

Fourth Quarter

• It really feels like for every step forward this team makes, they take at least two steps backwards. McCain opened the fourth with a pull-up three, but then took an all-too-common five-second violation the next time down the floor. On top of that, they just started smoking transition layups too.
• A good microcosm of how disjointed this team has been is the use of Ricky Council IV. Council has had sporadic minutes all season and has hurt himself by trying to do everything at once to make up for it when he does see the floor. He checked in for the first time tonight early in the fourth and immediately tipped a dangerous inbound pass into Heat defenders to give them a fast break.
• The rotations in the fourth quarter have been so weird since Embiid’s been back. That’s partly they’re getting destroyed in second halves, but they’ve still been bizarre. After a brief sub out, Embiid checked back in with 5:38 down by 20, but McCain and George subbed out. Were they still going for it or not? Is Embiid just out there getting reps? If so why aren’t they the reps with George and McCain they so desperately need? For how much this word has been used this season, there just doesn’t seem to be much of a plan.
• This road trip will conclude for the Sixers when they take on the Grizzlies in Memphis Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET. The Grizzlies won the previous matchup 124-107 when these teams met two weeks ago.