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Heat hold off Sixers to advance

Apr 28, 2011 - 5:49 AM Miami, FL (Sports Network) - Breakfast is over for LeBron James and the Miami Heat.

Next is a lunch date with the battle-tested Boston Celtics.

Dwyane Wade scored 26 points, Chris Bosh had 22 and the Miami Heat eliminated the Philadelphia 76ers from the playoffs Wednesday with a 97-91 victory in Game 5 of their first-round Eastern Conference series.

The game was closer down the stretch than the final score indicated.

Andre Iguodala scored seven of his 22 points in the fourth quarter for the 76ers, but missed a jumper from the foul line that could have pulled them within a point with about 10 seconds left.

Mario Chalmers added 20 points off the bench for Miami. James scored 16 points with 10 rebounds and eight assists, nearly posting a triple-double to help the Heat reach the second round for the first time since their title run in 2006.

They will take on the defending Eastern Conference-champion Celtics in the semifinals. Game 1 is scheduled for Sunday afternoon in Boston.

"We're still on our journey," said Bosh. "We have a long way to go."

The knockout blow came after Miami squandered a chance to sweep the Sixers in Game 4 on Easter Sunday, and after James compared closing them out to "just finishing our breakfast" in a Palm Beach Post story.

"That was a long buffet, because we kept coming," said Sixers forward Elton Brand, who matched Iguodala with 22 points before fouling out in the final seconds.

Indeed, the Sixers made a game of it despite falling behind by 10 points when Wade buried one of Miami's 12 three-pointers to make it 81-71 with about 8 1/2 minutes left.

They chipped away, and Thaddeus Young's running hook shot in the lane cut their deficit to 86-82 inside four minutes. Jrue Holiday knocked down two free throws to make it 86-84.

The Heat bent, but never broke, holding off the Sixers charge mostly at the foul line.

"They have All-Stars on their team," said Holiday. "They make things happen."

Iguodala and Young both buried jumpers to keep the Sixers within two points, and they drew within 90-89 when Holiday made a technical free throw after Wade was whistled for complaining that he was fouled.

Bosh, though, hit two foul shots at the other end as part of the same series to restore Miami's three-point lead with 51.2 seconds remaining.

Iguodala victimized James for a jumper on the left side, coming up big in a key moment after he was maligned for low-scoring efforts early in this series. But Joel Anthony made two key free throws at the other end to make it 94-91 Miami with 16.8 seconds left.

Ball-handling against James again, Iguodala pulled up from the right side of the foul line but clanked his shot off the left side of the rim. After Wade knocked down 1-of-2 foul shots, Jodie Meeks missed a three-pointer for Philly and Wade dribbled uncontested downcourt for a dunk and the final margin.

"It's never easy in the playoffs," said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. "We had to find different ways to win. ... A lot of guys stepped up at the end."

The Heat were out-shot 47-40 percent, but made 12-of-30 three-pointers in the game and 13 of their 16 free throws in the fourth quarter. Bosh and Wade both pulled down 11 rebounds and the Heat had a 47-41 advantage on the glass.

"My biggest fear tonight was they were going to start making threes, and they did," said Sixers head coach Doug Collins. "We fought to the finish, as we said we were going to do."

They had fight at the start, too.

Brand and Meeks scored eight points apiece in the first quarter and the Sixers controlled the start of the game, going ahead by 11 when Meeks' layup made it 16-5.

But the Heat fought back to take a 27-23 lead heading into the second quarter and were up 45-42 at halftime. They led 72-67 going into the fourth.

Game Notes

Young had 13 points for Philadelphia, Meeks scored 12 and Holiday added 10 with eight assists...Wade was three assists shy of a triple-double...The Sixers were 2-of-10 from three-point range.