By Joel Bartilotta
RotoWire
The Philadelphia 76ers earned a hard-fought 74-66 victory over the Miami Heat on Friday at the Las Vegas Summer League.
Philadelphia was able to use stifling defense and timely offense in order to grab their second win of the summer. They held Miami to 34.3 percent shooting from the field and 20.8 percent shooting from three-point range. In addition, the Sixers outrebounded the Heat, 44-34.
Power forward Shawn Long was the star for the Sixers, scoring a game-high 18 points and grabbing 10 rebounds en route to a double-double. First overall pick Ben Simmons looked unlikely to play after missing the two previous games, but he suited up and finished second on the team with 15 points to go along with 10 rebounds and six assists. Second-year big man Richaun Holmes provided a boost off the bench, tallying 14 points, six rebounds and two blocks in the win.
Miami has been shortening their rotation throughout the summer league, and used only eight players Friday. Damion Lee scored a team-high 17 points to go along with seven rebounds and four steals, but shot just 5-for-18 from the field. Former Hawaii star Stefan Jankovic led the bench in scoring, dropping 13 points on 6-for-9 shooting.
With the win, the Sixers improved their summer record to 2-4, while the Heat sit at 3-3.
