76ers-Heat Preview

By JEFF BARTL
Posted Jan 21 2012 1:16PM

The Miami Heat got some unexpected resistance from the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of last season's playoffs during their run to the NBA finals.

Philadelphia is proving this season its solid play in that series was no fluke.

The Heat will again be without Dwyane Wade when they host the Atlantic Division-leading 76ers in a playoff rematch - and possible late-round postseason preview - Saturday night.

Second-seeded Miami beat Philadelphia in five games to advance to the second round, but aside from a 94-73 loss in Game 2, the 76ers gave the Heat all they could handle. The other four games were decided by no more than eight points, with the final three decided by six or fewer.

The 76ers (11-4) have seemed to use that series as motivation. They lead the Atlantic by a full five games and have won four of their last five after beating Atlanta 90-76 on Friday.

Philadelphia trailed by eight at halftime but pulled away after a 14-0 run in the third quarter.

"I thought our guys went fast in the first half, and alone," coach Doug Collins said. "I thought we went far in the second half, and together."

Thaddeus Young scored a game-high 20 points while Jrue Holiday added 16 points and 11 assists.

"We can play (well) against tough teams," said Andre Iguodala, who scored 11.

Collins said he wanted a win badly after the 76ers fell 108-104 in overtime against Denver on Wednesday.

"You win this game. You don't lose two in a row at home," Collins said.

Philadelphia, though, hasn't had much regular-season success against Miami in recent years.

The Sixers have lost seven straight matchups, including a three-game season sweep last season. They have lost nine straight in Miami - playoffs included - and it may not get any easier against a Heat team that improved to 5-1 at home with a 98-87 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday.

LeBron James scored 31 points and added eight rebounds and eight assists for the Heat (10-4), who played their second straight game without Wade while he nurses a sprained right ankle.

James fought off a cold to have another solid outing. He's averaging 33.0 points and 8.0 assists over his last three games.

"A chest cold can get to you at times," James said. "But I felt like I could help the team."

His effort helped Miami improve to 5-0 this season without Wade, who was ruled out again by the team Saturday afternoon.

"We don't take (James') talent for granted, nor do we take Dwyane's talent or Chris (Bosh's) talent," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "They're special players and they can rise to the occasion."

James averaged 23.6 points and 9.7 boards in the eight meetings against the Sixers last season.

Louis Williams leads Philadelphia with 15.1 points per game, though he was held to six Friday. He averaged only 10.8 points in the playoffs, but his 3-pointer with nine seconds remaining in Game 4 helped the Sixers to an 86-82 win - their only victory over the Heat in the last 12 meetings.

Bosh scores 30 to lead Heat past 76ers 113-92

By TIM REYNOLDS
Posted Jan 21 2012 10:43PM

MIAMI (AP) Chris Bosh and LeBron James are allowing Dwyane Wade to simply focus on recovery.

Bosh scored 30 points, James added 28 points and nine rebounds and the Miami Heat remained unbeaten without Wade in the lineup this season, defeating the Philadelphia 76ers 113-92 on Saturday night.

Mario Chalmers scored 11 for Miami, which outrebounded Philadelphia 52-31 and moved into a tie with Orlando for first in the Southeast Division. The Heat are 6-0 this season without Wade, who missed his third straight game with a sprained right ankle. And with him out this week, the Heat have downed three division leaders - San Antonio, the Los Angeles Lakers and now the 76ers.

"We looked at this as a huge week, a huge opportunity for us to get on a roll," James said.

Lou Williams scored 22 points and Evan Turner added 16 for Philadelphia, which has lost eight of nine against Miami since the start of last season, including a five-game defeat in the opening round of last season's playoffs.

"They were ready tonight," Sixers coach Doug Collins said. "They were very, very sharp from the start. We hung around and fought there a little bit. They wore us down."

Bosh came into the night needing 12 points to reach 12,000 for his career. When Bosh scores at least 20 points, the Heat are 7-0 this season - so maybe it was fitting that he helped seal the win early in the fourth. He scored eight of Miami's first 11 points in the final period, the burst capped by a 20-foot jumper with 9:04 left to give Miami a 92-73 lead, then its largest of the night.

"We believe in our offense," Bosh said. "We feel that when we move the ball, when we get stops first and then we're out in the open court in transition and being aggressive, we feel that we cannot be stopped."

Philadelphia answered by scoring the next eight points, a 3-pointer by Jrue Holiday with 6:43 left getting the margin down to 11, but the outcome was never in serious doubt. Bosh reached the 30-point mark with a driving dunk with 4:44 left, giving Miami a 98-84 lead.

Andre Iguodala had a season-low four points for the 76ers. When James plays, his teams - including his time in Cleveland - are 16-1 in their last 17 meetings with Philadelphia, and Iguodala has played in all 16 of those 76ers defeats.

"We're going to have some good games ahead with that team," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

The Sixers came in allowing 86.7 points per game, the second-best mark in the NBA. But Miami has had a knack for putting up big numbers against the league's top defensive clubs, and that trend continued. After Philadelphia, the next five teams on the points-per-game-allowed list entering Saturday were Dallas, Indiana, the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston and Atlanta.

Miami has beaten them all in this young season, putting up at least 98 points against every one. The only team on that list left for the Heat to face is No. 1 Chicago, which visits Miami next Sunday.

"Championship is on our mind and in order to do that, we're going to have to beat the best teams," Bosh said.

Wade remains day-to-day, though is improving, Spoelstra said.

The Sixers played again without center Spencer Hawes, who missed his third straight game with a left Achilles' strain, and their big-man woes got no better. Rookie Nikola Vucevic, who started in Hawes' place, strained his left knee midway through the third quarter. He was helped into the Philadelphia locker room, unable to put any weight on the leg, but after a relatively quick examination it was determined that Vucevic, if needed, could return.

But by then, the Sixers' chances were slim, at best.

Moments after the team announced Vucevic's status, Bosh made a pair of free throws, pushing Miami's lead - which was only six when the rookie got hurt - up to 88-71 with 10 minutes left.

"When a team like this gets on a run and the crowd is getting into it, sometimes things just don't go your way," Turner said.

Vucevic finished with 13 points and nine rebounds. Elton Brand scored 12 and Holiday had 10 for Philadelphia.

The Heat wore their third uniform in as many home games, a white outfit trimmed in magenta, orange and black - paying homage to the 1971-72 ABA's Miami Floridians. Heat players even took on new identities and looks for the game program: James, photographed holding a disco ball and wearing an oversized wig, was "Clarence `Shonuff' McGee," for example.

Miami will wear the same uniforms again Sunday against Milwaukee.

NOTES: Wade's six games missed matches his total from last season. ... Philadelphia's improvement over last season is no surprise, Collins' history. At his first three NBA coaching stops, his team won an average of six more games in his second season than they did in his first. ... Bosh, Tim Duncan and Blake Griffin are the only three active players averaging 20 points and nine rebounds per game in their careers.

Notebook: Heat 113, Sixers 92

By Shandel Richardson, for NBA.com
Posted Saturday January 21, 2012 11:01PM

THE FACTS: Forward Chris Bosh scored 30 points and LeBron James added 28 as the Miami Heat defeated the Philadelphia 76ers, 113-92, at AmericanAirlines Arena on Saturday.

Miami ran its record to 6-0 without guard Dwyane Wade (sprained right ankle) this season as Wade missed his third consecutive game. But coach Erik Spoelstra won't commit to a return date.

Philadelphia was led by guard Lou Williams' 22 points off the bench. Evan Turner added 16 points.

James (nine rebounds, five assists, four steals, three blocks) and Bosh (seven rebounds, five assists, two blocks) did most of the heavy lifting and they were aided by reserve forward Udonis Haslem (eight points, 10 rebounds) and center Joel Anthony (nine points, nine rebounds).

QUOTABLE: "The more I hear something like that it just becomes officially the theatre of the absurd."
-- Heat coach Erik Spoelstra on the Twitter hashtag #withoutwade that suggests Miami might be a better team without guard Dwyane Wade.

THE STAT: Tough pick. Miami is 6-0 without Wade, Philadelphia is 0-4 when allowing 100 or more points, Bosh had a season-best five assists. But let's go with Miami out-rebounding Philadelphia, 52-31.

TURNING POINT: The Heat was holding a 69-65 lead with 3:15 left in the third quarter and then went on a 23-8 run to take a 92-73 lead early in the fourth quarter.

QUOTABLE II: "They were ready tonight. They were very, very sharp from the start. We hung around and fought there a little bit. They wore us down."
-- Philadelphia coach Doug Collins.

HOT: Miami has blocked at least one shot in a franchise-record 306 consecutive games. On Saturday against the 76ers the Heat blocked 10 shots, tying its season best.

NOT: Philadelphia has shot worse than 45 percent from the field in in six of its last seven games. The 76ers only shot that poorly once in the first 12 games.

GOOD MOVE: Miami opted to rest Dwyane Wade instead of forcing him into the court before he's totally healthy. Of course, there's no rush to get him back considering Miami is now 6-0 without him.

BAD MOVE: Philadelphia couldn't use Jodie Meeks, Jrue Holiday or Lou Williams to take advantage of Wade's absence. The Sixers should have come up with something at either end of the court.

NOTABLE: Wade (sprained right ankle) remains day-to-day officially, so there's no word on whether he'll play Sunday vs. Milwaukee or Tuesday vs. Cleveland...Philadelphia center Spencer Hawes (left Achilles tendon) will be evaluated before Monday's game against Washington and could be activated...76ers center Nikola Vucevic left the game in the third quarter with a sprained left ankle.

UP NEXT: For the Heat Sunday vs. Bucks, Tuesday vs. Cavaliers, Thursday @ Pistons; For the 76ers Monday vs. Wizards, Wednesday vs. Nets, Friday vs. Bobcats.

• 76ers: --
• Heat: Pittman, Wade

• 76ers: --
• Heat: --

• Lead Changes: 1
• Times Tied: 2

• Arena: American Airlines Arena, Miami, FL
• Officials: #59 Gary Zielinski, #75 Eric Dalen, #42 Eric Lewis
• Attendance: 19725
• Duration: 2:05