What happened on Sixers' final possession vs. Heat?

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While the Sixers’ loss Wednesday night had more to do with their inability to thwart Miami’s zone, they still had a chance in the end.

After a Tobias Harris three from the corner pulled the Sixers within two with 12 seconds left, rookie Kendrick Nunn missed a pair of free throws. With Brett Brown losing his final timeout on a challenge of a Joel Embiid foul, Ben Simmons took the ball off the rim and ran.

As Simmons looked to drive, the other four players spaced things out to clear the lane and provide Simmons outlets. It looked like initially Josh Richardson was open in the opposite corner but was quickly covered up.

It appeared that maybe Embiid could’ve run faster and made a better effort to get on the block and get early post position on Bam Adebayo. Instead, Embiid resorted to the trail position where he takes the bulk of his threes.

This was another example of where Simmons’ unwillingness to shoot hurts the Sixers. When you watch the replay, Simmons doesn’t even look at the rim. He turns his back to Nunn and immediately looks for an outlet. In this situation, Simmons could’ve either posted the 6-foot-2 Nunn or simply shot over him from roughly 10 feet.

Simmons didn’t speak postgame, but his likely response would’ve been that he was looking for a better shot. There is some fairness to that. Simmons’ jumper from 10 feet likely isn’t the best shot for the Sixers’ offense, but the fact that he doesn’t appear to be even looking to score is a problem.

Ultimately, the Sixers didn’t get a terrible look. Al Horford missed a three that would’ve put them in front and likely won them the game. After a torrid run, Horford has been struggling from three recently, hitting just 2 of his last 19 including that miss.

Again, if it doesn’t take the Sixers over two quarters to figure out the zone, they’re never in this mess, but it does give a glimpse into some of their bigger issues.

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