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Iguodala propels 76ers past Heat

Feb 8, 2008 - 5:15 AM PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Andre Iguodala and the Philadelphia 76ers took control in the fourth quarter.

Iguodala scored 13 of his game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter and added eight rebounds as the 76ers posted a 101-84 victory over the struggling Miami Heat on Thursday.

Andre Miller had 21 points and seven assists and Willie Green scored 14 for Philadelphia, which has won two straight and four of six overall.

"The coaches put it in our heads that every possession is important," Iguodala said. "Tonight, we did a good job of executing plays coming out of the timeouts."

The two consecutive victories have started a season-high five-game stretch at home for the 76ers.

"We want to get these next games at home and go into the All-Star break with some confidence," Green said. "We want to get to get something going into the second half of the season."

The Heat, who have dropped six straight and 21 of their last 22 games, have the worst record (9-39) in the NBA.

"This is character-building time for the whole team," Heat coach Pat Riley said.

After superstar Dwyane Wade cut Miami's deficit to 79-74 on a dunk at 2:42 into the final quarter, the Sixers went on a 8-1 run capped by a pair of free throws by Miller to take a double-digit lead with 7:16 left.

"We had a big lead in the third and they cut it down," Iguodala said. "It was one of those games where if you don't take it right now, you could lose it later on. Everybody did a good job of doing something small to help us win the game."

"We've been hanging in there all year for three-and-a-half quarters," Riley said. "We couldn't make the shots that we needed to make. At the start of the game, we were sharp and we were moving the ball. Then, it got stagnant in the fourth."

Iguodala had five points in the spurt for Philadelphia, which shot 48 percent (37-of-77).

"It was one of those games where any team that put on a run was going to win it," Wade said. "They were able to put it together in the fourth."

"We were shooting the ball well in the first half but, our defense was not where we wanted to be," 76ers coach Maurice Cheeks said. "In the second half, I thought that we did a better job defensively."

Wade scored 19 points for Miami, which shot just 36 percent (29-of-80) and will be without the services of Shawn Marian and Marcus Banks until Sunday.

Marian and Banks were included in the trade that sent 14-time All-Star Shaquille O'Neal to the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday.

"One day, we'll get to the point to where we'll be able to beef up the team," Riley said. "Right now, we're in a big deep rut emotionally."