“Bam Adebayo was locking up Joel Embiid”: Heat DPOY candidate imposed his will on Sixers’ MVP candidate

It was a tough night at the office for Joel Embiid as Bam Adebayo held him to just 6 points and 2 rebounds in 25 minutes in a loss.

The much anticipated clash between the Miami Heat and the Philadelphia 76ers did not live upto the expectations of the fans. It was a match where Philly had the opportunity to clinch the top playoffs spot in the Eastern Conference with a win. But a valiant Jimmy Butler and his men powered Miami Heat through to a 106-94 win.

The Heat were exceptional in defense as they held Philly to the lowest total of the season- 94 tied with their outing against the Indiana Pacers.

Both Butler and Tobias Harris ended with 21 points which was the game high but apart from Harris, the Sixers had to break a lot of sweat in this game to score points consistently. It was mostly because of Heat’s resolute defense and also a rare off day from their talisman Joel Embiid.

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Sixers talisman Joel Embiid had a wretched outing as his counterpart Bam Adebayo had the last laugh

Embiid who was reckoned as a strong contender for the MVP this season could only manage to score six points alongwith two boards as he turned the ball over four times. The 27-year-old had a +/- ratio of -17 in a game where nothing went his way.

Although Philly were quick off the blocks with a 6-2 lead over the hosts, they failed to keep up the momentum as Heat started dominating the play. That was the only time they had the lead as they trailed by 19 points at the break.

The Heat had several players who stepped up in various quarters. In the first quarter, it was mainly Butler while Tyler Herro was the star of the second as he dropped 14 points.

During the third quarter, it was Bam Adebayo who took the charge and finished the match with 18 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. However more than his statistics, it was the way he guarded Joel Embiid and kept him quiet throughout the game.

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The Process could only manage to score a meagre two points when Adebayo was guarding him which made the difference between the two sides. The last season’s finalists are once again getting into the groove at the business end of the season as they have won seven out of their last eight fixtures.