Late run leads Heat over 76ers
Published 4:00 am Saturday, February 4, 2012
PHILADELPHIA — With LeBron James running the show, Miami ran the Sixers out of their own building.
Dwyane Wade scored 26 points, and James had 19 points and 12 rebounds to lift the Miami Heat to a 99-79 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night.
Needing a jumpstart in the fourth, James shifted to point guard, sparking a dominant late run that put away the pesky Sixers. James led a makeshift lineup that included Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller to a 15-0 spurt in the quarter. It turned a tight one for 36 minutes into a comfortable victory and handed the Sixers just their third home loss of the season.
Wade used a pair of ferocious dunks during the game-changing run that pushed the Sixers’ first sellout crowd of the season toward the exits.
“When he’s out there and we’re all on the same page on what we’re running offensively,” Wade said, “it makes us a dynamic team.”
Mario Chalmers scored 13 points and Chris Bosh had 12 to help the Heat in a needed bounce-back game. James had six of his eight assists in the fourth.
“Tonight was probably the best game from start to finish, as far as playing hard and communicating on both ends, that we had all season,” James said. “So it was a good win.”
James scored a season-high 40 points in a loss at Milwaukee on Wednesday night. The Heat held a tough practice Thursday in Philadelphia to get back on track. The Heat broke down all aspects of the team via film and some honest communication.
“It was no-holds barred, no tongues being held,” James said. “If we’re going to be held to a championship standard, we need to go out and play like it. No one can take things personal if someone says something to him. We’ve got to take constructive criticism.”
Thaddeus Young scored 16 points for the Sixers, who snapped a four-game winning streak.
The Sixers opened the week with wins against Orlando and Chicago. The Heat squashed the home-week sweep.
Miami’s 113-92 win on Jan. 21 was Philadelphia’s only double-digit loss of the season. Entering the fourth, duplicating that feat seemed out of reach.
Unlike the Sixers, the Heat can turn to their stable of stars to crank up the pressure.
Wade started the run easily enough with free throws. Haslem and Miller buried mid-range jumpers, James followed with a three and the game changed in a hurry.
The Sixers (12-3 at home) had grown used to the confetti gun blasting off after each victory. By the time they dusted off the seldom-used inspirational movie scene video reel, it was too late. Wade, Bosh and James were headed toward the bench, another win over the Sixers in the books.
“They started to crank it up and we took a few bad shots,” Young said. “We went cold and didn’t play together. We knew there would be some rough times, but we’ll be OK. We know we’re a good team. There won’t be any heads down.”
The Heat played in Philadelphia for the first time since they blew a six-point lead with 95 seconds to play in Game 4 of their opening round playoff series. Jrue Holiday hit a late three that sliced the deficit to one and Lou Williams made the go-ahead three-pointer from the top of the arc over a lunging Wade with 8.1 seconds left for an 86-82 win.
In other games on Friday:
Pacers 98
Mavericks 87
DALLAS — Paul George hit seven three-pointers and finished with a career-high 30 points, and Indiana won in Dallas for the first time in eight years.
Thunder 101
Grizzlies 94
OKLAHOMA CITY — Kevin Durant scored 36 points and hit the tiebreaking three-pointer in the final minute to lift Oklahoma City over Memphis.
Celtics 91
Knicks 89
BOSTON — Paul Pierce scored 30 points and Ray Allen had nine of his 14 in the final quarter to lift Boston over struggling New York.
Magic 102
Cavaliers 94
ORLANDO, Fla. — Dwight Howard scored 19 points, had 16 rebounds and blocked eight shots as Orlando outlasted Cleveland.
Timberwolves 108
Nets 105
NEWARK, N.J. — Luke Ridnour made the tiebreaking three-pointer with 1:23 left and Nikola Pekovic scored a career-high 27 points as Minnesota beat New Jersey.
Pistons 88
Bucks 80
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Rookie Brandon Knight scored a season-high 26 points, holding his own against Milwaukee’s Brandon Jennings and helping Detroit snap a seven-game slide.
Raptors 106
Wizards 89
TORONTO — Leandro Barbosa shook off flulike symptoms to score 19 points, and Amir Johnson had 18 points and 13 rebounds as Toronto beat Washington.
Rockets 99
Suns 81
HOUSTON — Kevin Martin scored 16 points, and Kyle Lowry had eight rebounds and nine assists to lead Houston past Phoenix.
Lakers 93
Nuggets 89
DENVER — Andrew Bynum scored 22 points, Kobe Bryant added 20 and Los Angeles opened a season-high six-game road trip with a victory over weary Denver. Al Harrington missed a three-point attempt with two seconds left that would have put Denver ahead.