By: Brandon Apter, managing editor 
Tonight at the Wells Fargo Center, the Sixers (8-53) play host to Dwayne Wade and the Southeast division leading Miami Heat (35-26). The Heat maintain a two game lead over the Hawks in their division and have won their last three games. They currently sit in fourth in the Eastern Conference, 1.5 games behind the Celtics for third place and two games ahead of Atlanta for fifth. Meanwhile, the Sixers have gone winless since February 6th, a victory over Brooklyn. They're seeking to snap a 10-game losing streak. Philadelphia has endured three losing streaks of 10 games or more already this season.
With Hollis Thompson unavialable, the Sixers continued their stretch against potential playoff teams on Wednesday night against the Hornets. Charlotte took care of Philadelphia pretty easily, 119-99, but it took until the third quarter for them to pull away, thanks to a 14-4 run to close out the period. Kemba Walker led the Hornets, who are sixth in the Eastern Conference standings, with 30 points and seven rebounds while Cody Zeller added 15 of his own. This Sixers loss marked the ninth-straight game in which the team allowed more than 100 points and the fourth time in that span they've allowed over 110. Robert Covington, Nerlens Noel and Isaiah Canaan each scored 17 points for the Sixers, who were also outrebounded 57-49.
The Heat are coming off of a 108-92 victory over the Suns on Thursday night, a game that saw Dwayne Wade and Goran Dragic score 25 and 22 points respectively. Both guards have been reasons for Miami's success, with Wade averaging 24.4 points per game over the last five games while Dragic has 19.3 points and seven assists per game over the last eigh contests. The loss of Chris Bosh hasn't hurt the Heat too much, posting a 6-2 record in his absence.
Game Notes:
- Isaiah Canaan is the first Sixer ever to record 130 or more three-pointers in 60 or fewer games, per Sixers Stats on Twitter.
- The Sixers average 96.4 points per game, which is last in the NBA, but over the last nine games, they've put up an average of 105.6.
- The two teams last met on November 21st, a 96-91 Heat win in Miami. Jahlil Okafor, who remains day-to-day, scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the loss while Isaiah Canaan had 22 and Robert Covington scored 21.
- Sixers forward Jerami Grant has been fined $10,000 for throwing his water bottle into the crowd during the February 29th matchup against the Wizards. The second-year player out of Syracuse is averaging 9.2 points and 4.7 rebounds this season for the Sixers in 59 games, 34 of which have been starts.
- This season, Brett Brown has put together 28 different lineups for the Sixers. Isaiah Canaan and Jerami Grant have been filling in for Nik Stauskas, who has been on a minutes restriction, and Jahlil Okafor, who is nursing a shin contusion.
- In three games since joining Miami, Joe Johnson has averaged 14.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and three assists on 60 percent shooting. Johnson reached a buyout agreement with the Brooklyn Nets shortly after the trade deadline.
Projected Lineups:
Sixers
PG – Ish Smith - 11.9 ppg, 6.6 apg
SG – Isaiah Canaan - 10.5 ppg, 2.2 rpg
SF – Robert Covington - 11.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg
PF – Jerami Grant - 9.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg
C – Nerlens Noel - 10.9 ppg, 7.9 rpg
Injuries: Jahlil Okafor (shin contusion, day-to-day), Joel Embiid (foot, out)
Heat
PG – Goran Dragic - 13.3 ppg. 5.5 apg
SG – Dwayne Wade - 19.2 ppg, 4.8 apg
SF – Joe Johnson - 11.9 ppg, 4.0 apg
PF - Luol Deng - 11.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg
C – Amar'e Stoudemire - 5.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg
Injuries: Chris Bosh (blood clots, out), Tyler Johnson (left shoulder surgery, out)
Game Information:
Tip-off: 7:00pm
Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
TV: Comcast Sportsnet
Radio: 97.5FM
Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra, NBA League Pass
