The Miami Heat are the No. 1 seed for a reason.
A 99-90 Game 6 win over the Philadelphia 76ers has the Heat advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals, where Miami will face either the Milwaukee Bucks or Boston Celtics.
Recap
The 76ers were in a win or go home situation on Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center. With Miami up 3-2 in the series, Philly needed to win to force a Game 7. And to say the least, Philly had hope with Kyle Lowry out for the Heat, as well as home-court advantage which favored the Sixers.
However, the game started off shaky for Philly. Danny Green suffered a devastating injury early on in the game when Joel Embiid landed on his leg. With the Sixers down Green, James Harden and Tyrese Maxey had to step up.
Harden recorded 11 points in the first half, but in the second half, Harden scored zero points on only two shots attempted. Maxey did score 20 points, but it obviously was not enough. The Sixers only lost by nine points, but they were down by much more for the majority of the game.
Joel Embiid got a double-double, recording 20 points and 11 rebounds. However, Embiid can only do so much; the Sixers did not help the MVP finalist out.
Max Strus played terrific yet again. Strus, who just came off his first-career double-double, recorded his second-career double double with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists. Strus made four three-pointers and led Miami with a +23 rating.
Jimmy Butler had a game-high 32 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. Butler was so effective with the ball, maximizing every shot he took. Butler drew many fouls, and kept the Sixers on their feet the whole game.
Simply put, Miami proved that they are NBA Finals contenders. Whether the Heat face Boston or Milwaukee, one thing is for sure: the Heat are just four wins away from the NBA Finals.
Will the Heat face Milwaukee or Boston? Does it even matter? I guess we will find out shortly…