Joel Embiid scores 23 points, has the big assist as 76ers beat Heat in play-in to earn No. 7 seed

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The 76ers needed all the improbable tricks they could summon to even have a chance at winning their first play-in game in team history.

Nicolas Batum hit game-shifting 3-pointers. Buddy Hield was in the mix. Even the promise of free chicken nuggets was enough to revive an offense and smother the boos from Philly fans that rained inside the arena.

But in crunch time, the game came down to Joel Embiid. Always Joel Embiid.

With the NBA MVP on the court, the 76ers proved they have a shot at a long postseason run as long as he’s in the lineup.

Embiid had 23 points, 15 rebounds and one huge assist to Kelly Oubre Jr. on a go-ahead three-point play that led the 76ers to a 105-104 win over the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament on Wednesday night.

“Lots of booing,” Embiid said, smiling. “We stuck together. It just shows you that I don't play my best, I don't get to my spots the whole game until the fourth quarter, and we still find a way to win.”

The 76ers earned the No. 7 seed and advanced to play the second-seeded New York Knicks in the opening round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Game 1 is Saturday at Madison Square Garden.

The Heat — who went from the play-in tourney to the NBA Finals a year ago — host the winner of the night's late play-in game between Chicago and Atlanta on Friday night, with the winner getting the No. 8 seed.

Embiid exploded out of a quiet game late in the fourth and carried the Sixers back from 14 down in the second half. Embiid, who missed 43 games this season and finished out on a surgically repaired left knee, was a non-factor as Batum and Hield sparked the 76ers in the second half. Batum had 20 points.

“We won the game because of them,” Embiid said. “Those guys stepped up and we won the game.”

But when the Sixers needed big buckets, who else was there but their big man?

Embiid buried a go-ahead 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 2;33 left in the game for a 93-91 lead that sent a crowd — that had about booed the Sixers out of the building at the half — into a frenzy. After the Sixers blew that lead, Embiid again was clutch with a three-point play for a 96-94 lead.

With the game tied 96-all, Miami's Tyler Herro was whistled for a backcourt violation. Embiid slipped the ball to Oubre under the basket for the bucket, the free throw and a 99-96 lead they would not give up.

The 76ers played this one like it was Game 7 — and with good reason. They like their chances against the upstart Knicks rather than playing for the No. 8 seed and a date with the NBA's best, the Boston Celtics.

That's what Miami faces if it can get out of Friday's game and make the playoffs under this format for the second straight season.

Herro — who hit a 3 in the final second before the 76ers lost the ball out of bounds as time expired — finished with 25 points. Jimmy Butler, perhaps slowed by a first-half knee injury, had 19.

“We will do this the hard way,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “That has to be the path right now. We're going to rest up, treat up, rally around each other up, get ready for Friday. Again, embrace these competitive games. It will be competitive in front of our home fans.”

Butler had four steals in the first half, and gutted out two free throws after he slipped and appeared to tweak his right knee, perhaps a reason he scored only two points in the fourth. Butler said he would need an MRI on Thursday.

“It felt like I couldn't do too much, which sucks with the timing of the game and everything,” Butler said. “I hope that I'm fine. I hope that I wake up tomorrow and can still stick-and-move. Right now, I can't stay that's the case.”

The 76ers rallied in the third, fueled perhaps by a free fast-food chicken promotion triggered when the Heat missed consecutive free throws with a nine-point lead.

With the crowd roaring for the first time all night, the Sixers took off — but not behind the usual suspects. Batum — acquired in the James Harden deal with the Clippers — instead hit three 3s in the quarter that edged the Sixers within one possession of a tie game three times. Each time, the 76ers were stymied, none worse then when Embiid was stripped on a drive that could have knotted the game at 68-all. Kevin Love instead buried a 3 and the Heat took a 74-69 lead into the fourth.

After a few quick buckets put them up early, the Sixers caved and seemed downright befuddled by Miami’s zone. The Sixers were passive and could not find a way to dump the ball inside to Embiid -- the 7-footer waving his arm in vain for a ball that never came. And where his help? All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey -- who had three 50-point games this season -- vanished and scored only nine points in the half. He finished with 19.

Philly’s voracious boo birds were heard early, often and never louder than when the oft-maligned Tobias Harris ripped a page out of the 1990s Knicks star Charles Smith's book when he missed four -- four! -- gimmes at the bucket on one possession.

Harris was benched in the final minutes of the game.

They'll need Harris playing close to an All-Star level moving forward. But for a game, Batum and Hield — and a heaping dose of Embiid — were enough for the Sixers.

“Just like we planned it,” a smiling team president Daryl Morey said in the locker room.

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Miami Heat's Delon Wright, center right, reaches for the ball against Philadelphia 76ers' Cameron Payne, left, during the second half of an NBA basketball play-in tournament game, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Philadelphia. The 76ers won 105-104.(AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Miami Heat's Bam Adebayo, right, dunks the ball with Philadelphia 76ers' Tobias Harris, left, defending during the second half of an NBA basketball play-in tournament game, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Philadelphia. The 76ers won 105-104.(AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Philadelphia 76ers' Kyle Lowry, center, looks to pass the ball while losing his balance during the second half of an NBA basketball play-in tournament game against the Miami Heat, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Philadelphia. The 76ers won 105-104.(AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Miami Heat's Jaime Jaquez Jr., center, goes up for the dunk during the second half of an NBA basketball play-in tournament game against the Philadelphia 76ers, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Philadelphia. The 76ers won 105-104.(AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid, left, talks with Miami Heat's Jimmy Butler following an NBA basketball play-in tournament game Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Philadelphia. The 76ers won 105-104. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Miami Heat's Jimmy Butler, right, reacts to a foul by Philadelphia 76ers' Kyle Lowry, lower left, while going up for a shot during the first half of an NBA basketball play-in tournament game Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Miami Heat's Delon Wright reacts to his 3-point shot during the first half of the team's NBA basketball play-in tournament game against the Philadelphia 76ers, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Miami Heat's Jimmy Butler, left, drives up the court with Philadelphia 76ers' Tobias Harris trailing during the first half of an NBA basketball play-in tournament game Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Miami Heat's Tyler Herro, right, shoots over Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid during the first half of an NBA basketball play-in tournament game, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid, left, shoots over Miami Heat's Kevin Love during the first half of an NBA basketball play-in tournament game Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Miami Heat's Jimmy Butler, right, shoots as he is fouled by Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid during the first half of an NBA basketball play-in tournament game Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Miami Heat's Bam Adebayo, right, dunks over Philadelphia 76ers' Paul Reed during the first half of an NBA basketball play-in tournament game Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Miami Heat's Jimmy Butler, left, drives to the basket against Philadelphia 76ers' Nicolas Batum during the first half of an NBA basketball play-in tournament game Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli leaders on Wednesday in his push for a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas, saying “the time is now” for an agreement that would free hostages and bring a pause in the nearly seven months of war in Gaza.

He said Hamas would bear the blame for any failure to get a deal off the ground.

Blinken is on his seventh visit to the region since the war erupted in October in his bid to secure what’s been an elusive deal between Israel and Hamas that could avert an Israeli incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering.

The current round of talks appears to be serious, but the sides remain far apart on one key issue — whether the war should end as part of an emerging deal.

“We are determined to get a cease-fire that brings the hostages home and to get it now, and the only reason that that wouldn’t be achieved is because of Hamas,” Blinken told Israel’s ceremonial President Isaac Herzog at a meeting in Tel Aviv.

“There is a proposal on the table, and as we’ve said, no delays, no excuses. The time is now,” he said.

Blinken said the deal would also allow much needed food, medicine and water to get into Gaza, where the war has sparked a humanitarian crisis and displaced much of the territory's population.

Blinken also met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, though no details about the meeting were immediately available.

Earlier, after meeting with Herzog and also with families of Americans held by Hamas at his hotel, Blinken briefly greeted several dozen demonstrators calling for an immediate hostage release deal on the sidewalk outside.

Chanting “SOS, USA, only you can save the day" and “In Blinken we trust, bring them home to us,” the protesters urged him to make their case to Netanyahu.

Blinken told the families that there was a very strong proposal on the table and that Hamas needs to say yes to it. “That is our determination, and we will not rest, we will not stop until you’re reunited with your loved ones,” he said.

His comments came on the last leg of his regional visit, with previous stops in Saudi Arabia and Jordan, where he urged Hamas to accept the latest proposal, calling it “extraordinarily generous” on Israel’s part.

According to the State Department, he will also visit an Israeli port where aid for Gaza is entering.

The United States has staunchly supported Israel's war since Hamas' unprecedented attack on Oct. 7 into southern Israel. But it has grown increasingly critical of the staggering toll borne by Palestinian civilians in Gaza and has been especially outspoken against Israel's plan to invade Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city where some 1.5 million Palestinians have fled from fighting elsewhere in the territory.

Washington has warned Israel against any offensive that puts civilians at risk.

Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed to invade Rafah, which he says is Hamas’ last stronghold in the coastal strip, and on Tuesday he pledged to do so “with or without” a cease-fire deal.

The current deal that is being discussed — brokered by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar — would see the release of dozens of hostages in exchange for a six-week halt in fighting as part of an initial phase, according to an Egyptian official and Israeli media. Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel would also be released, including some serving long sentences.

But a sticking point remains over what happens next. Hamas has demanded assurances that an eventual release of all hostages will bring a complete end to Israel’s nearly seven-month assault in Gaza and a withdrawal of its troops from the devastated territory.

Israel has offered only an extended pause, vowing to resume its offensive once the first phase of the deal is over. The issue has repeatedly obstructed efforts by the mediators during months of talks.

While the talks appeared to be gaining steam, on Wednesday, an Egyptian official said that Hamas had asked Egyptian and Qatari mediators to provide clarity on the terms of the latest cease-fire proposal being discussed, a demand that could delay progress.

The official, who has close ties to the talks and who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to freely discuss the deal, said Hamas wants clear terms for the unconditional return of displaced people to the north of Gaza and to ensure that the second stage of the deal will include discussing the gradual and complete withdrawal of all Israeli troops from the entire Gaza Strip.

The official said the current outline didn’t fully explain who would be allowed to return north and how it would be decided.

While talks are ongoing, the fighting in Gaza continues. Late Tuesday, an Israeli airstrike hit a house in central Rafah — a city Israel has struck repeatedly despite the masses that have taken refuge there — killing at least two children, according to hospital authorities. The bodies of the dead children were taken to the Abu Yousef al-Najjar hospital. An Associated Press journalist saw the bodies at the hospital morgue as their relatives mourned the deaths.

On Wednesday, Israel’s military said it was operating in central Gaza, where it said jets struck militants, including one said to be setting up explosives.

The Israel-Hamas war was sparked by the unprecedented Oct. 7 raid into southern Israel in which militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250 hostages. Israel says the militants are still holding around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.

The war in Gaza has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials. The war has driven around 80% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million from their homes, caused vast destruction in several towns and cities and pushed northern Gaza to the brink of famine.

Associated Press writer Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Families and supporters of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza hold banners and shut slogans during a protest calling for their return, outside a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and families of hostages in Tel Aviv, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv, Israel Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

Families and supporters of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza hold banners and flags during a protest calling for their return, outside a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and families of hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

A woman holds a banner with families and supporters of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza during a protest calling for their return, outside a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and families of hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Families and supporters of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza hold banners and flags during a protest calling for their return, outside a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and families of hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Families and supporters of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza hold banners and flags during a protest calling for their return, outside a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and families of hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and Israeli President Isaac Herzog shake hands during their meeting in Tel Aviv, Israel Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

Mourners carry the bodies of members of the Abu Taha family who were killed in an Israeli airstrike, during their funeral at Al-Salam cemetery, east of Rafah, Gaza Strip. Monday, April 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammad Jahjouh)

FILE - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a press conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, Israel on Oct. 28, 2023. Netanyahu pledged Tuesday, April 30 to launch an incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering from the almost 7-month-long war, just as cease-fire negotiations between Israel and Hamas appear to be gaining steam. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Palestinians look at the destruction after an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, Gaza Strip. Monday, April 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammad Jahjouh)

A woman holds a banner and shouts slogans with families and supporters of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza during a protest calling for their return, outside a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and families of hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and Israeli President Isaac Herzog talk during their meeting in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)