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The players themselves didn't try to lose the game on purpose (this never happens in the NBA, see: the Knicks), but the respective teams put their players in the worst possible position to win.
Last summer the Sixers acquired Miami's top-10 protected 2015 first-round draft pick in a trade. If the pick is in the top 10, the Heat keep it. If it's outside the top 10, the Sixers get it. With Miami sitting in 10th place going into the game, both teams had a chance to dramatically increase their odds of getting the pick by losing.
As Brandon Lee Gowton of Liberty Ballers put it after the game, "Both teams tanked pretty hard. In the end, the Sixers tanked harder and they lost."
Miami won 105-101, but it wasn't for a lack of trying.
Nerlens Noel, Philly's team's best player, didn't play for the third-straight game. Either did Ish Smith, leaving the team without a true point guard. They played only seven guys in total.
The players who didn't play took on coaching responsibilities. First-round pick Joel Embiid, who didn't play all year because of a broken foot, was drawing up plays in the huddle:
Noel got in on the coaching action as well:
Guys NERLENS IS DRAWING UP A PLAY pic.twitter.com/R3J6W4HtQR
- Jim Adair (@jimadair3) April 16, 2015