No Butler, No Problem as rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s career night steals Christmas win from the 76ers

The Miami Heat gets a huge Christmas win over the Philadelphia 76ers as they send a message to the rest of the Eastern Conference.

Though not a historic rivalry like the Lakers-Celtics rivalry, NBA fans had something to look forward to between the Philadephia 76ers and Miami Heat on Christmas Day with former star teammates Joel Embiid and Jimmy Butler.

However, the Grinch came early as Embiid was ruled out with an ankle injury on Christmas Eve. Then, more bad news came in as Butler was ruled out hours before tip-off with a calf strain.

So, with each team’s best player out, who did they turn to?

For Philadephia, it was supposed to be Tyrese Maxey. The guard is having his breakout year, with career-highs around the stat sheet. Yet, at halftime, the Kentucky product was held scoreless on 0-9 shooting. However, an unsung hero stepped up for the 76ers.

Backup center Mo Bamba subbed in for Paul Reed as Reed picked up four early fouls and it paid off for Nick Nurse. Bamba scored 14 points in the first half on an efficient 6-7 shooting from the field to help pick up the absent scoring load from Embiid.

On the other side, Miami’s young trio core stepped up in Butler’s absence. The Kentucky duo of Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo headlined with 16 points and 14 points, respectively. Rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 14 points and while they were leading the way offensively, it was the Heat defense that shut down Nurse’s offense in the first half. Led by Adebayo who had two early blocks, the Heat caught on fire on both ends to spur a 21-1 run, leading to a 63-49 lead at halftime.

¨Then, the script flipped in the second half.

Though Maxey continued his shooting struggles, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Tobias Harris stepped up for the 76ers offensively. Mixed in with stops on defense and capitalizing on missed shots, Philadelphia erased a 21-point Miami lead to tie the game up at 86-86 to end the third quarter.

While Erik Spolestra rested Adebayo for majority of the third quarter, he relied on a lineup centered around Herro and the guard struggled during Philadephia’s run, shooting 2-9 from the field. Overall, Miami was beat on both ends of the ball as they failed to match Philadephia’s intensity as they were outscored 37-23 to head into the final period.

Unluckily for Nurse and the 76ers, Jaquez Jr. and Adebayo picked up where they left off at halftime as Adebayo led the defense as Jaquez Jr. continued his offensive career night.

Though Oubre Jr. and Harris picked up the scoring load again, Miami’s defense continued its defensive efforts and gifted the home crowd a 119-113 win.

With the turn of the calendar year around the corner, both the Heat and Sixers will have their work cut out for them as they look to cement themselves as legitimate contenders in the Eastern Conference..