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Balanced attack spurs Sixers past Heat

Feb 8, 2009 - 4:38 AM PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Down in the fourth quarter, the Philadelphia 76ers turned to their bench and watched it deliver.

Marreese Speights and Andre Miller led seven players in double figures with 15 points apiece as the 76ers snapped a two-game slide with a 94-84 win over the Miami Heat on Saturday.

Thaddeus Young had 14 points and Andre Iguodala chipped in 12 for Philadelphia, which shot 30-of-36 from the free-throw line and won the battle of the boards, 40-35.

Trailing, 69-63, at the beginning of the fourth, the Sixers used a 21-5 run over the first six minutes of the period to grab the lead. Royal Ivey nailed a 3-pointer and capped the spurt with a layup.

"We brought Royal in for his defensive ability," Philadelphia interim coach Tony DiLeo said. "He defends hard and can defend several players. He really has confidence in his 3-point shot. He knows when he is open and he takes it. He gives us a big lift. He's been a valuable player for us."

"In the fourth quarter we locked down and we played some solid defense, and we played through our offense," Ivey said.

Speights scored the final three points and nine in the fourth quarter for Philadelphia.

"The bench came out and helped get the win," Speights said. "It wasn't just one guy, it was a whole team win. It was a good confidence win for the whole group."

The Sixers' bench contributed 28 of the team's 31 points in the final period.

"Talk about a team win," DiLeo said. "We had seven guys in double figuers. Our energy group came in and did a fantastic job to turn it around. I think that we really wore them down the stretch. It was a complete win with everybody contributing."

Miami went nearly six minutes without a field goal in the fourth quarter before Michael Beasley attempted to rally the team with eight points over the final 4:28.

"We were very sloppy with the ball in the second half," Heat coach Eric Spoelstra said. "When the Sixers turned the pressure up, we did not respond well. That's really what it was. It was anybody's game to have. Our focus and attention wasn't up to the necessary standard for the way the game was being played."

Dwyane Wade collected 21 points and seven assists but managed only one point in the fourth quarter for the Heat, who shot 3-of-19 from the arc and committed 15 turnovers en route to their fourth loss in the past five games.

"We had 10 turnovers in the second half have when it really mattered," Spoelstra said. "In the first half, against a team that turns you over, we had five and we were able to control the game and the pace. In the second half we pretty collapsed with our ability to take of it."

"It wasn't as tight as it should have been when it came down to winning time," Wade said. "They made the plays to win the game."

Rookies Mario Chalmers and Beasley combined for 32 points on 14-of-27 shooting.