76ers 108 - 119 Heat
Final
  for this game

Heat welcome Sixers to south Florida

Feb 23, 2015 - 3:15 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Miami Heat continue to plug along after discouraging news on Monday when they welcome the Philadelphia 76ers to AmericanAirlines Arena.

After a shrewd trade deadline deal that brought reigning Most Improved Player Goran Dragic to South Beach, All-Star forward Chris Bosh has been sidelined for the season with blood clots in his lungs.

In Dragic's debut, and Bosh's first game away, the Heat fell at home to the New Orleans Pelicans, 105-91, Saturday night.

Mario Chalmers netted 20 points, Dwyane Wade supplied 19 points and Hassan Whiteside provided 11 points and 16 boards for Miami, which has dropped five of its last seven contests.

The newly acquired Dragic tallied 12 points in his Heat debut.

"It's kind of tough times," Dragic said. "We need to be ready, play as hard as possible. There's 27, 28 games left. Hopefully, that's going to be enough."

The Heat fell behind early, trailing 25-14 after the first quarter. The Pelicans took a 10-point lead into the half, then went on a 19-4 run to start the third and put the game away.

Miami plays its next two on the road following Monday's contest.

The Sixers have lost two straight after the All-Star break and three in a row overall. Philly's road slide has reached nine games with its last victory as the visitor on Jan. 9 against the Brooklyn Nets.

On Sunday, the Sixers were game, but fell, 103-98, to the Orlando Magic at Amway Center. The 76ers complete their road trip on Wednesday against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Philly had no answer for its former center, Nikola Vucevic, who torched the Sixers to the tune of 31 points and 14 rebounds.

JaKarr Sampson and Robert Covington led Philly with 16 points apiece, while newly-acquired Isaiah Canaan dropped 14 points in his debut. Canaan was acquired last week in a deal that sent promising rookie K.J. McDaniels to the Houston Rockets.

"He's a big personality, he's physical," Sixers coach Brett Brown said of Canaan. "To come in and be the point guard in an NBA game at the end of February is hard to do. ... I thought that he did a good job."

The Sixers traded reigning Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams on Thursday.

Sampson scored 11 points in the final 3:38 to make things interesting.

His layup at 1:37 made it 96-95, but the Magic scored the next five points to distance themselves. Canaan hit a deep 3 at the other end, but Orlando's Victor Oladipo sealed it with a pair of free throws.

The two teams have split two meetings this season with the victor prevailing each time. The Heat are 10-3 in the last 13 regular-season encounters against the 76ers and 5-1 at home during that stretch.






Related News