Joel Embiid's 76ers Criticized by NBA Twitter During Loss to Jimmy Butler, Heat

Round 1 belongs to the Miami Heat.

Miami defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in the first of three late-season matchups between the Eastern Conference foes with a 101-99 victory on Monday at Wells Fargo Center. Jimmy Butler's incredible circus shot in the final two minutes put the visitors ahead for good, and James Harden's three-pointer at the buzzer didn't fall.

Philadelphia fell to 39-21 overall with a second straight loss and dropped further behind the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference standings.

The No. 3 seed is starting to look like the ceiling for the team at this point, and Monday's loss led to some criticism:

It seemed like the 76ers were just going through the motions for stretches in the first half as Tobias Harris attempted a single shot before intermission, the bench was quiet and the offense was nowhere to be found outside of Joel Embiid and Harden.

Miami had no trouble generating second-chance opportunities on the boards either, and Gabe Vincent caught fire from deep.

Philadelphia also couldn't contain Butler, who told reporters he was "tired of losing" after four straight defeats coming into Monday's contest and played like it. He stuffed the stat sheet with 23 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and four steals and controlled play for extended stretches.

The home team finally got a much-needed lift in the second half when Tyrese Maxey found his stroke from behind the arc and aggressively attacked the basket. It was able to take the lead with an alternative to Embiid and Harden getting involved, but Butler eventually played the role of hero at the end.

The Heat and 76ers will face each other again on Wednesday, only this time the matchup will be in Miami.