Kyle Lowry said it wasn't personal, even as he spent time before and after Monday night's game catching up with his former Heat teammates. But undeniable was that in his new role with his hometown 76ers, Lowry had an extra hop in his step.
CLEVELAND — Kyle Lowry said it wasn’t personal, even as he spent time before and after Monday night’s game at Wells Fargo Center catching up with his former Miami Heat teammates.
But undeniable was that in his new role with his hometown Philadelphia 76ers, Lowry had an extra hop in his step in his 16-point performance that pushed his new team past his old team 98-91.
“I think the juice was that we understood it was a big game for the standings,” said Lowry, who visited the Heat locker room before conducting his postgame media session. “We needed that win for the standings purposes. I love and admire those guys so much. I still root for them except for when I’m playing against them. There was no added juice. There was just, like, go out there and try to win the game for our team because of the standings.
“It’s going to be a tight race and we have to do what we have to do and hold it down while we can and try to take advantage of the opportunities that we have, and win as many games as we possibly can.”
Dealt Jan. 23 along with a future protected first-round pick by the Heat to the Charlotte Hornets for Terry Rozier, Lowry then received a buyout from the Hornets and signed with the 76ets on Feb. 13.
Monday was Lowry’s highest-scoring game with the 76ers. As a means of comparison, he scored 10 total points in his final five games with the Heat.
Lowry’s knowledge of the Heat’s schemes provided a needed payoff on a night the 76ers lacked Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris, including a late 3-pointer and an up-and-under layup.
“I think their zone is really good, it’s very effective, and I knew where I could get my shots at,” Lowry, 37, said. “At the end of the day, Tyrese (Maxey) was holding it down. Sometimes you have to give him a break and he put me in the position to hit the three, and he has everybody looking at him. And then he put me in another position because everybody was looking at him to have the open lane and make a layup. At the end of the day, it’s about winning basketball games no matter how it comes.”
Included in Lowry’s Monday effort was a dive over the scorers’ table in a bid to save a loose ball, a play by the Heat bench that had members of both teams checking on his safety.
“Yeah,” Lowry said, “when you get to a certain age you don’t have any brakes, so I couldn’t stop myself. Just dove and yeah, I’m all good.”
Monday’s victory drew the 76ers within 2-1 in the four-game season series that concludes April 4 at Kaseya Center.
After scoring 20 points through three quarters, Heat center Bam Adebayo did not attempt a shot in Monday’s pivotal fourth quarter.
“It’s something we didn’t do,” he said.
Asked why, Adebayo said, “A lot of moving parts to that, but that’s a Spo question.”
Coach Erik Spoelstra said a factor was the way the 76ers packed the paint.
“I think we had some decisions in the paint,” Spoelstra said. “They were packing the paint like crazy, almost daring us to shoot from the 3-point line. We had to shoot some of those just to keep them honest. Post-ups, there wasn’t really anywhere to go.”
Adebayo played 5:39 in the fourth quarter, with Spoelstra initially staying with the group that helped the Heat overcome what had been a 17-point third-quarter deficit.
Because of the 76ers’ approach, Adebayo converted a pair of 3-pointers, now with a conversion in a career-high four consecutive games. Backup center Thomas Bryant also converted a 3-pointer.
“That wasn’t by accident,” Spoelstra said. “That’s what was open for large parts of the game.”
