Dwyane Wade leads Miami Heat past Philadelphia 76ers, 100-94: NBA Play-off Recap
Dwyane Wade finished with 32 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, as the second-seeded Miami Heat held off the Philadelphia 76ers by 100-94, in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference quarter-final series Thursday night.
The win gave the Heat a 3-0 lead in their first-round play-off series.
LeBron James led the Heat with 24 points, 15 rebounds and six assists, while Chris Bosh scored 19 points and six rebounds for Miami, which rallied from an early 10-point deficit.
"I know I don't have to score as much on this team," James said. "We have other great options, so it allows me to concentrate on other things."
Elton Brand added 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Lou Williams and Spencer Hawes tallied 15 and 12 points, respectively, for the 76ers, who lost a 94-73 decision in Game 2 on Monday.
Jrue Holiday scored 20 points and eight assists, while Andre Iguodala tallied 10 points and 10 assists in the defeat.
"We know we can play with them," Brand said. "We just have to get a win and stay in the series. Realistically we could have had two of these games. It's discouraging."
The 76ers came out of the gates strong. Hawes hit a jumper and layup to cap a game-opening 9-0 run.
The Heat trimmed their deficit to three points, 15-12, past the mid-way mark of the first quarter, but the 76ers answered with a 9-2 flurry to take a 24-14 advantage.
Mike Bibby and Williams hit two consecutive three-pointers to give Philadelphia a 29-21 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Trailing by nine points, 40-31, late in the second quarter, the Heat went on a 16-8 run. Jones nailed a three-pointer on the next two Miami possessions to cut the deficit to 48-47 with less than two minutes to play.
Philadelphia extended its lead to double figures and never lost the advantage, going into half-time up 52-50.
Miami cut its deficit to 68-64 in the third quarter when James dished an underhand pass to Wade for a huge dunk.
“It definitely started a run for us,” James said. “Luckily I was able to get rid of the ball before I traveled and D-Wade was able to slam it home. It’s a great play for us, a great team’s win and we’re looking to close them out on Sunday.”
Philadelphia held a 75-73 edge heading into the fourth quarter.
James drained a three-pointer and Bosh drilled a jumper early in the fourth quarter to give the Heat a 78-75 lead.
With less than seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Wade hit two foul shots to make it 88-79 for the Heat. Williams drained just one of his three free throws and James scored a layup for a 90-80 margin with less than five minutes to play.
The 76ers cut their deficit to 98-94 on Williams' trey with less than a minute remaining in the fourth, but they could not catch the Heat. James Jones hit two foul shots in the final moments to seal the Heat’s victory.
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