Embiid's profane rant after missing 76ers loss

The Philadelphia 76ers lost Game 2 of their playoff series with the Miami Heat at home on Monday, and injured star Joel Embiid is clearly frustrated with the situation.

Embiid, who passed concussion protocol this week after suffering a fractured orbital bone, was not cleared to play for Game 2 and let his emotions show on Instagram after watching the Heat tie the series at 1-1.

Philadelphia head coach Brett Brown shed some light on Embiid’s post when asked about it after the game.

“He just wants to play basketball,” Brown said. “He wants to be with his team. He wants to play in front of the fans. He wants to see this through. When he’s not able to do that, he gets frustrated. I respect his frustration. It’s born out of competitiveness and it’s born out of him wanting to be with his team.”

Embiid has gone through a lot dealing with injuries and can’t be happy missing out on the first playoff games of his career, especially at home. His status for Thursday’s Game 3 in Miami has not yet been determined.

Simmons and 76ers crash back to earth

Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers have crashed back to earth after a Dwyane Wade-inspired Miami levelled their NBA playoffs series at one win apiece.

The 76ers entered Monday's game in Philadelphia on a 17-game winning streak and appeared set to rally from a 16-point fourth quarter deficit to win.

With Simmons pushing the ball and the 76ers' shooters starting to hit their mark they cut the deficit to two with four minutes to go, but it was the Heat's veteran Dwyane Wade who came off the bench, steadied Miami and hit clutch baskets.

The Heat's victory levels the best-of-seven series 1-1.

Simmons flirted with another triple-double with 24 points, eight assists and eight rebounds.

The 36-year-old Wade top-scored with 28 points.

The Heat game plan was to be more aggressive compared to their lopsided loss in game one on Saturday, with special attention and a rotation of players, including Wade, guarding Simmons.

Wade was impressed with the 21-year-old from Melbourne.

"That kid is not even a kid," Wade said.

"He's a basketball player, man.

"He's great.

"He does so many different things for his team."

Philadelphia coach Brett Brown said the Heat's aggression was the deciding factor, particularly by pressuring Simmons when he brought the ball up the court.

"I thought the physicality of the game, I give them credit," Brown said.

"They were bending us backwards."

With AAP