Feb 26, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) drives for a shot in front of Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) during the first quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Heat fall to 76ers as Powell exits, Bam fades, Herro misses

Originally posted on Miami Heat on SI | By Austin Dobbins | Last updated Feb 26, 2026 10:15 PM ET

The Miami Heat traveled to Philadelphia for one of the biggest games remaining on their 82 game schedule. The Heat entered the night a game and a half back of the 76ers for the 6th seed and the essential escape of the play-in tournament.

Miami battled all night behind Bam Adebayo but ultimately fell short.

The Heat were there late, and it fell apart at the end as Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid slammed the door, emphasizing Miami's lack of comparable starpower. The only clear difference on the box score was that the 76ers took more shots than the Heat thanks to Miami's 14 turnovers and 11 offensive rebounds allowed. Miami also left 6 points at the charity stripe.

It didn't help that Heat guard Norman Powell left the game after re-aggravating his groin. His status going forward is unknown.

1. Bam Adebayo-B

Bam was Miami's best player Thursday, with a first half double-double and a final tally of 29 points and 14 rebounds, but an alarming trend continued. In the fourth quarter of the game, Adebayo fell flat, yet again. He recorded a singular stat in 8 minutes, just one steal while going 0-4 from the floor including three missed threes. His clutch numbers this season have been abysmal, as he's gone from the Heat's best closer to one of their worst.

2. Tyler Herro- B

Herro had to start the second half after Powell went down with injury, and he had a solid night all together scoring 25 points and accumulating 7 assists. He was a creator for Miami and help up better than many would have anticipated on the defensive end. Herro played a huge role in Miami's bug comeback with a 10/2/3 third quarter. Herro looked good in his fourth game back and will certainly need to build off of this performance. But he did take, and miss, an off-balance three-pointer in the final minute.

3. Jaime Jaquez Jr.- B

The Heat's sixth man of the year candidate did his thing anchoring the bench again tonight with 19 points and 4 rebounds over 30 minutes. He was great getting to his shot and the foul line. He attempted 4 threes and only made one of them which contributes to his lower grade. If Jaquez can ever develop a three-point shot, he is going to be a dangerous player in this league.

The loss to the Sixers is a big one. It puts a huge wrench in Miami's play-in escape and makes their next matchup with Philadelphia even more important.

Miami's next game is at home against the surging Houston Rockets on Prime. After that Miami gets a nice start to March with two matchups against the tanking Nets.

Miami let tonight's game slip, and now have more ground to make up.

This article first appeared on Miami Heat on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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