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Heat pull away from Sixers to stop skid

Nov 27, 2010 - 4:58 AM Miami, FL (Sports Network) - Dwyane Wade tallied 23 points, eight assists and six rebounds, and the Miami Heat broke open a tight game early in the fourth quarter en route to a 99-90 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Heat had lost their previous three games and were on the brink of falling to .500 on the young season, but Wade's performance -- along with 20 points, eight rebounds and six assists from LeBron James -- helped stop the skid.

Jodie Meeks was a spark off the bench for the Sixers, pouring in 21 points in the loss, the club's third straight and eighth in nine games.

Andre Iguodala added 20 points, nine boards and five helpers, and his three- pointer in the final minute of the third pulled Philadelphia within 73-71.

After the teams traded baskets to open the final stanza, James and Chris Bosh combined to score the next 10 points, with the former's two free throws resulting in an 85-73 cushion with 8 1/2 minutes to play.

An Iguodala slam cut the deficit to 94-86 with just over four minutes to play, but Elton Brand missed a jumper the next time down before Wade converted a three-point play.

Wade's finger-roll with 2:25 on the clock made it 99-86, and the hosts held on from there.

"We have to get away from worrying about how we get wins. We have to focus on getting wins," Wade said. "Internally we can't worry about blowouts. We have to worry about playing well."

The Heat scored 14 of the final 17 points of the first quarter for a 25-17 lead, and Meeks' 18 second-quarter points kept the Sixers within 51-47 at the break.

"We have seen Jodie get on those streaks, and he gave us a chance tonight," Sixers head coach Doug Collins said.

Game Notes

Miami has won six consecutive meetings with the Sixers...Brand and Thaddeus Young scored 12 and 11 points, respectively, for Philadelphia, which shot 12- of-21 from the foul line compared to Miami's 23-of-29 effort...Sixers rookie Evan Turner was held scoreless for the third time this season...Bosh finished with 18 points and nine boards for the Heat, who received 17 points from Carlos Arroyo.