LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Philadelphia’s star center Joel Embiid returned from injury to help the re-energized 76ers beat the Miami Heat, 99-79, on Friday, clawing back a game in their NBA playoff series.
Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks also avoided falling into a 3-0 hole with a 103-94 victory over the Phoenix Suns.
Embiid missed the Sixers’ double-digit losses in the first two games against Miami after he suffered a concussion and orbital fracture in the first-round, series-clinching win over Toronto.
With his return confirmed just shortly before tip-off in Philadelphia, Embiid scored 18 points and pulled down 11 rebounds as the 76ers trimmed the deficit in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference series to 2-1.
“I tried to push as much as I can, I’m glad that we got the win,” said MVP candidate Embiid, who played in a protective mask but was still clearly hurting when he took a hand to the face late in the game.
Danny Green drained seven of his nine three-point attempts on the way to 21 points for Philadelphia. Tyrese Maxey scored all 21 of his points in a scintillating second-half performance.
Maxey picked up the slack after former MVP James Harden keyed the Sixers before the break, when he scored 15 of his 17 points.
Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 33 points. Tyler Herro added 14 off the bench but point guard Kyle Lowry, back after missing four games with a hamstring strain, didn’t score.
In Dallas, Luka Doncic came up just shy of a triple-double with 26 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists. And the Mavs’ Slovenian star finally got some support as Jalen Brunson scored 28 points to lead five Dallas players in double figures.
Most importantly, the Mavericks clamped down defensively on the top-seeded Suns, who were harried into 17 turnovers.
Jae Crowder led the Suns with 19 points while star point guard Chris Paul — celebrating his 37th birthday — was held to 12 and Devin Booker scored 18.
The Mavericks out-scored the Suns 50-32 in the paint and led them 16-10 in fastbreak points.
“We played with pace and we played defense,” Doncic said. “When we get stops, we’re a different team. If we play like this every game, we have a chance.
“Phoenix is an amazing team, they’re the number one team. It’s going to be tough to beat them any time, but we did our job today.”
