The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Miami Heat 117-109. They have a winning streak of two games; both overall and against Florida teams (somebody has to keep track of this stuff!). The Heat, who had won 13 straight, seemed a little out of sorts. Hassan Whiteside especially looked slow. The Sixers took advantage, scoring easily in the paint for the game, although the Sixers still struggled with rebounding the ball. Whiteside alone had 19 rebounds.
This was a fast, fun game in the first half. It was fast, but the Sixers took care of the ball with only 1 turnover at the halfway mark of the second quarter.
The Heat relied on Goran Dragic who, at one point, scored 13 straight points for the Heat in the second. This just so happened to be all of his points at that point of the game. Still, the Heat didn't do very well in the second quarter and the Sixers expanded their lead to 9 points. Dragic ended with 30 points.
By the half, the Sixers were shooting 42.9 percent from the floor while the Heat were at 41 percent. The Sixers had five more made field goals than the Heat, including three more made 3 pointers. The Heat did make those points back at the free throw line, as they made 7 more shots than the Sixers. The Sixers took 10 more shots overall and had those extra shots thanks to forcing 11 turnovers on the Heat. It sure wasn't from the rebounding battle where the Sixers were down by 11 boards.
The Sixers started the 3rd quarter quickly, going up by 11 points within a couple of minutes of play. The Heat responded to pull within 6. The Sixers jumped back to a double digit lead. Heat came back. You get the idea. This was essentially the second half of the game.
The Sixers had 7 players score in double digits, with three of them hitting 19 points. Nerlens Noel had those 19, plus 3 rebounds, 4 steals, and 1 block. Robert Covington was another 19 pointer, who shot 5 for 6 from 3 point range. Dario Saric came off the bench to score the 3rd 19. He had 6 rebounds and 4 assists as well.
Very good win for the Sixers as they continue to fight without Joel Embiid, who may be out for a while longer. Next game is Monday against the Charlotte Hornets. It's a 7PM start.
