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Heat rout Sixers for 2-0 series lead

Apr 19, 2011 - 3:41 AM Miami, FL (Sports Network) - The Miami Heat took care of the Philadelphia 76ers early in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series, as LeBron James' 29 points, seven rebounds and six assists led the way in the 94-73 wire-to-wire drubbing.

Whereas Saturday's series opener came down to the closing minutes, Monday's tilt was all but decided by halftime with Miami holding the Sixers to 26 percent shooting in the opening 24 minutes en route to an 18-point lead.

Chris Bosh chipped in 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Dwyane Wade played through persistent migraine headaches to net 14 points for the Southeast Division champions.

"I thought Miami played a great, great game," Sixers head coach Doug Collins said. "If they are playing on top of their game, they are a better team. That doesn't mean that we aren't going to play and compete ... but it is going to be very difficult to beat them."

Thaddeus Young ended with a team-high 18 points while Evan Turner added 15 off the bench for the Sixers, who will look to get in the win column when they host Game 3 on Thursday.

The Sixers jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter in Game 1, but found little success early on Monday.

Miami scored 10 of the first 13 points, and James Jones beat the first-quarter buzzer with a fadeaway jumper for a 19-13 cushion.

"Our energy was much better from beginning to end," Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said. "The biggest thing we wanted to do was come into the game with a lot more of a motor and energy to set the tone."

Philadelphia, which hit a woeful 4-of-20 from the field in the opening frame, got 10 points from Turner in the second quarter, but the rest of the team shot 3-for-17 (18 percent).

In a microcosm of the lopsided affair, Joel Anthony blocked Young twice on one possession, and James threw down an alley-oop toss from Mario Chalmers for a 37-23 lead with five minutes left in the half, highlighting the reigning two- time MVP's 13-point quarter.

Mike Bibby's late three provided a 49-31 halftime lead for the hosts, and the margin reached as high as 25 late in the third quarter on two James free throws.

With the score 75-52 heading to the fourth, the Heat rested their superstars for most of an uneventful final 12 minutes.

Game Notes

Miami made 47 percent from the field...Lou Williams, the Sixes' leading bench scorer during the regular season but hobbled by a hamstring injury, went 3- for-10 from the field in Game 1 and 1-for-8 for eight points in Game 2...Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand were held to five and three points, respectively, for Philadelphia...Miami shot 24 more free throws than Philadelphia on Saturday and held a 29-20 edge in attempts on Monday.