76ers 99 - 111 Heat
Final
  for this game

Miami heats up in fourth to beat Sixers

Mar 26, 2011 - 3:56 AM Miami, FL (Sports Network) - Dwyane Wade scored 39 points, LeBron James added 32 and the Miami Heat pulled away for a 111-99 victory over Philadelphia in a late-season preview of a potential playoff series.

Chris Bosh scored 20, giving Miami's three stars 91 of the team's 111 points.

"That's tough to beat," said Philadelphia head coach Doug Collins.

Still, it took a 34-17 fourth quarter for the Heat to knock off the pesky 76ers for their seventh win in eight games.

Lou Williams was a spark off the bench for Philadelphia, scoring a team-best 24 points in less than 25 minutes. Thaddeus Young had 15 points, also off the bench, but the Sixers fell for the second time in three games.

If the regular season ended Friday, the third-seeded Heat and sixth-seeded Sixers would meet in the first round of the playoffs.

Playing up to their competition, the Sixers led by as many as 16 points when Andre Iguodala hit a pair of free throws to make it 42-26, capping a 9-0 run in the second quarter.

"We were the aggressor to start the game and we had them on their heels," said Collins.

The Heat responded swiftly, however, scoring 23 of the next 25 points to go ahead by five. They carried a 51-50 edge into halftime, but the Sixers shot better than 59 percent in the third quarter for an 82-77 lead heading into the fourth.

They were still ahead 92-90 when Young scored a tough bucket in the lane with 7:30 remaining -- but that would be their last lead.

Wade made a layup at the other end to spark a 21-7 run to end the game for Miami. It included a 10-0 run at the start that was punctuated by Wade's steal and dunk for a 100-92 lead.

"They just had another gear," said Collins.

Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra was unhappy with his team's sloppy play at the beginning of the game.

"It was very puzzling the amount of turnovers (13) we had in the first half. It really took us out of our normal rhythm," he said. "With that said, it was very competitive in the second half. Our defense was about as active as it could be."

Game Notes

Williams hit an off-balance three-pointer to give the Sixers a 27-20 lead after the first quarter...Philadelphia is winless in its last six games in Miami...The Heat have won seven straight in the series.






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