PHILADELPHIA — Kyle Lowry exacted his revenge against the Miami Heat by playing a big role in the Philadelphia 76ers' win over them. He scored 16 points on 6-12 shooting, tallied four rebounds, two steals and an assist and made a plethora of plays that helped Philly notch a crucial victory.

The Heat traded Lowry to the Charlotte Hornets in the hopes of upgrading with the younger, more athletic Terry Rozier. Lowry was bought out and joined the 76ers, rising up the ranks from bench player to starter in the hopes of keeping the boat sturdy amid Joel Embiid's absence.

The Sixers and Heat came into the game with identical records of 37-30. Philly has already dropped two games of the four-game season series, meaning that a loss would have given Miami a pivotal tiebreaker. The Heat are still in a favorable position to have one over the Sixers but it's an outcome that was at least delayed for a little while.

“Kyle kept reminding everybody on the bench that they weren't gonna quit even when we had a 17-point lead,” Nick Nurse said. The 76ers allowed the Heat to tie the game up in the fourth quarter after leading by 17 in the prior period but didn’t allow Miami to complete its comeback. 

Lowry always plays hard and badgers the opposing team with his quick wit and physicality. But did this game against the Heat bring out more feistiness than the former All-Star usually has?

“I'd say yes,” Nurse said when asked if Lowry had a little more intensity for this game. “I don’t know if it's for them or if he's starting to finally settle in. He was being a little ornery at shootaround today and he hasn't been yet, so it looked like he's getting back to more of his normal self there.”

Lowry downplayed the narrative of a revenge game, too, saying how much he loved the Heat and pointing to the importance of simply keeping up in the standings race.

“No, I think the juice was that we understood it was a big game for the standings,” Lowry said. “We needed that win for the standing purposes. I love and admire those guys so much and I still root for them except for when I'm playing against 'em. But 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. You know, it's gonna be a tight race and we gotta do what we can do and hold it down while we can and then try to take advantage of the opportunities that we have and win as many games as we possibly can.”

Kyle Lowry focused on 76ers win, not revenge over Heat

Kyle Lowry's time in Miami featured a trip to the NBA Finals and a No. 1 seed in the conference the year prior. While it also featured some internal clashes and his role shrinking each season, he left a mark on one of the NBA's premier franchises during his age-35 and -36 seasons, a time in most players' careers when they’re barely hanging onto a roster spot if they even have one at all. When asked about Lowry after he had joined the Sixers (but had yet to play for them), Erik Spoelstra was nothing but complimentary.

So far with the 76ers, Lowry has earned rave reviews. His playmaking has helped Tyrese Maxey get more off-ball looks and his defensive intellect has allowed them to deploy aggressive defensive game plans, like when they overloaded Jalen Brunson in a win over the New York Knicks.

Lowry's competitive fire has remained steadily prevalent from the get-go with the 76ers, starting in his team debut when he needed stitches after taking a hit to the head and staying in the game. In the win over Miami, he took a dive over the scorer’s table trying to save a pass midway through the third quarter. Most players would have punted on that possession but Lowry only knows how to go for it each and every time. After the game, he said he was alright.

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
Heat players Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier next to a silhouette

Benedetto Vitale ·

76ers' Kelly Oubre and Joel Embiid and Knicks' Mitchell Robinson

Sam DiGiovanni ·

Knicks 76ers Game 4 Prediction

RB Hayek ·

Lowry couldn’t care any less that he's about to be 38 years old. He's always one to give it his all. Displays of immense effort only serve to motivate his teammates and help the Sixers' chances of winning a game.

Last year, Philly had a great leader by example in 37-year-old P.J. Tucker, who hustled all over the floor and sacrificed his body often. But his skillset on offense was limited to just spot-up corner threes, making him difficult to play in several contexts. Lowry still has a bag of tricks to make an impact in other areas, which allows Philly to close games with him. Especially when Embiid's talent is there to help cover up for some of Lowry's declining athleticism, he should be huge for the Sixers in the playoffs.

Lowry's ability to organize the offense is key for the 76ers but so too is the way he can make game-winning plays in crunch time. “I mean it certainly helps a lot,” Nurse said of his ability to run the offense. “I think he sees a lot and positions people a lot but he's actually making more plays than doing that. This is another game where he's hit two huge shots with a couple minutes to go and a key steal.”

The 76ers and Heat will see each other again on April 4 at Kaseya Center. Philly will definitely need Kyle Lowry's savvy, tough-minded style of play for that matchup and the entirety of the homestretch.