Heat Squeak by 76ers in Back-And-Forth Matchup
In what turned out to be a tightly contested matchup, the Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers battled it out on Wednesday night, as both teams were aiming to head into the All-Star Break on a good note. After having blown out the Milwaukee Bucks on the road on Tuesday night, the Heat followed up their impressive performance by stealing another road victory against the 76ers 109-104 at the Wells Fargo Center. Despite the continued absence of Jimmy Butler, Terry Rozier, and Josh Richardson, the Heat enter the break having arguably recorded their two biggest wins on the season. With the win, the Heat improved to 30-25 and sit in sixth place in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, the loss for the 76ers dropped their record to 32-22 and are in fifth place in the Conference. Let’s take a look at how the Heat managed to shock the Philly faithful.
The Heat and Sixers would begin the game on a high-scoring pace with the game being tied at 33-33 to end the first quarter, as Bam Adebayo would score ten points for the Heat on five shot attempts in the quarter. In the second, the 76ers would outscore the Heat 29-27 in the quarter to head into halftime with a 62-60 lead. Tyrese Maxey and Buddy Hield led the 76ers at halftime with 16 points each. During the third quarter, neither team would manage to gain a clear upper hand, as the Heat would lead 83-82 to head into the fourth quarter. With seven minutes left in regulation and trailing 91-89, the Heat would go on a 10-2 run in the fourth to give Miami a lead they would never relinquish. The Heat would start the game-deciding run with a 3-pointer from Haywood Highsmith, followed by a running layup from Tyler Herro, another 3-pointer from Duncan Robinson, and a dunk from Adebayo to complete four consecutive scoring possessions.
In the win, Adebayo would complete the game with 23 points and 14 rebounds. Also, Herro would also have 23 points and Robinson would contribute 20 points in the Heat’s fourth win in their last five games. For the 76ers, Maxey would score 30 points and Hield had 22 points and 10 assists. As well, Paul Reed, who is replacing the spot for the injured Joel Embiid, had 18 points and 12 rebounds for Philadelphia. Following the All-Star Break, the Heat will open up the second half on the road next Friday against the New Orleans Pelicans. Meanwhile, the 76ers will host the New York Knicks next Thursday.
