• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Heat edge Sixers, clinch playoff berth

Apr 4, 2012 - 1:17 PM Miami, FL (Sports Network) - LeBron James netted a season-high 41 points to go with six rebounds, four assists and three steals as the Miami Heat won their 16th straight home game and clinched their fourth consecutive playoff berth with a 99-93 triumph over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Mario Chalmers added 19 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Heat, who rebounded from their embarrassing 19-point loss to Boston on Sunday. They swept the season series against Philadelphia for a third straight year.

The Heat moved to 9-1 without Dwyane Wade, who sat out the contest to rest a sore left knee.

"Knowing that one of our top scorers (Wade) was not in uniform, I knew I had to pick it up offensively," James said.

Evan Turner had 26 points and eight rebounds for Philadelphia, which has lost five of its past six road games. The Sixers are 1 1/2 games behind the idle Celtics for the top spot in the Atlantic Division.

All-Star forward Andre Iguodala left the contest in the third quarter with a left eye injury. He was poked in the eye by Chalmers as he was trying to strip Iguodala of the basketball along the left wing.

"I thought my eye was gone," Iguodala said of the injury after the game. "It was hurting really bad. I had a really bad headache for about 10 minutes. I didn't know what happened because when you get hit in the eye, you think it's worse than what it is...It's gotten a whole lot better since it happened.

Trailing by three at halftime, the Heat opened the third stanza on a 12-1 run. Bosh and Chalmers nailed back-to-back triples to cap the surge as Miami established a 63-55 edge.

The Heat outscored the Sixers 25-16 in the third and took a 76-70 cushion into the final frame.

The margin reached double figures, 85-75, following James' three-point play midway through the fourth, but the Sixers didn't go away quietly.

They responded with an 8-1 spurt, and Williams' jumper pulled Philadelphia within 86-83 with 2:54 remaining.

But James sealed the win by scoring Miami's next 10 points.

Consecutive jumpers made it 90-83, and a bit later, he put home Chalmers' lob for a 92-85 edge with 1:27 to play. James then proceeded by draining four straight free throws for a 96-87 advantage with 44.1 seconds left.

"At the end of the game, LeBron James showed why he is one of the greatest players in the game, if not the greatest. He made big shots and got to the foul line," Philadelphia head coach Doug Collins said.

James led all scorers with 12 first-quarter points on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor as the Heat took a 29-27 edge into the second.

Turner provided the spark for Philadelphia with a personal 11-2 run early in the second frame. His three-point play followed by back-to-back baseline jumpers and consecutive layups gave the Sixers a 38-33 advantage.

The Sixers took a 54-51 lead into the locker room. Turner finished the half with 15 points and five rebounds.

Game Notes

Chalmers had four assists and now has 1,003 helpers for his career...Udonis Haslem surpassed Alonzo Mourning as Miami's all-time leader in defensive rebounds (3,309)...Miami's longest home winning streak is 18 set from Jan. 23- April 5, 2005...Miami is an NBA-best 22-2 at home.