The Miami HEAT defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 96-91 Saturday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. Dwyane Wade led the way for the HEAT with 27 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
1. Wade Makes History
In a slow first half for the HEAT, Wade was one of the bright spots. He remained in attack mode for much of the game and mixed up his approach. Wade was also very active on the defensive end and did all he could to disrupt the 76ers.
The second quarter was particularly special for Wade, as he passed Dale Ellis for 50th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with a free throw at the 3:10 mark in the period. He would later usurp Reggie Theus for 49th on the list.
While Wade continued his offensive onslaught into the third quarter, he made the biggest impact on the defensive end. Perhaps his best play on that end came as the HEAT were mounting a comeback in the fourth quarter.
With 6:15 left in the fourth, Wade came from behind to rip the ball from Robert Covington. From there, he regained his balance, took it down court and threw up the lob for Justise Winslow, who slammed it through to cut the 76ers’ lead to 87-84.
As mentioned before, Wade stuffed the stat sheet for the second game in a row with 27 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals.
2. Bosh and Winslow Come Through in the Clutch
Throughout the game, Bosh fought very hard inside and scrapped for everything. Early on, he attacked the basket and drew plenty of fouls on Philadelphia. While he didn’t have the best shooting performance, he came through when it mattered most. Bosh knocked down a clutch three from above the break to tie the game at 89 with 2:41 to go. On the defensive end, he was just as vital and blocked three shots against the 76ers. In all, Bosh tallied 13 points and 11 boards to go along with those three blocks.
Winslow, meanwhile, continued to show that he is mature beyond his years. The rookie played the entire fourth quarter and tallied a plus-minus rating of plus-12 in the period. He played excellent defense throughout and had a pivotal tip-in off a Wade missed floater to put the HEAT up 93-89 with 51.7 seconds left. Winslow finished with 11 points (eight in the fourth), five rebounds and an assist.
3. Whiteside’s Block Party
While Whiteside had a quiet game offensively, he definitely made his presence felt on the defensive end. He had eight blocks in the contest, with perhaps no sequence as impressive as one late in the third quarter.
With a minute to go in the third, Covington drove inside from the right elbow against Winslow. Winslow played good defense and Whiteside swatted the shot attempt over the top. Nerlens Noel grabbed the offensive rebound, gathered himself and also had his shot denied by Whiteside.
View the Possession
Along with his eight blocks, Whiteside also had 13 points, nine rebounds and a steal against Philadelphia.
