Heats reverse course by knocking Philadelphia down
After suffering a defeat in the much hyped season opener against the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat travelled down to Philadelphia searching for a win. The high profile team
didn’t endure any embarrassment this time around as they concluded their brief season opening road trip beating the Philadelphia 76er’s 97-87 to avoid their first 0-2 start in a season since 2007-2008.
The trio of LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade more commonly known as the ‘Big Three’ failed to impress in the season opener even though they put up a more convincing
effort this time around, but, they are still a far cry from their peak and need to remove the kinks in their armor. The fact is that they need to play a few more games together to develop fluency in the co-ordination.
On the night though, it was Wade who was electric and scored 30 points with 10-for-20 as compared to his 4-for-16 effort last night. James, mostly relying on his left hand
scored 16 while Bosh had 15. The trio collectively accounted for 61 points which was definitely an improvement from the dreadful season opener.
The game started on an even note, as the Philadelphia 76er’s playing under Coach Doug Collins for the first time and put up a valiant fight as they matched the Heats step
by step. The 76er’s were trailing 15-18 at the end of the first quarter, but went on to take an early two point lead in the second quarter. At this juncture, a James Jones inspired Miami sparked resurgence and went on to a 16-2 rout in the second quarter to
hand them a 49-41 lead at half time. Jones netted four three pointers in the second quarter and followed it by two in the third to open up the lead to 26 points at the end of the third. He finished the game with 20 points.
The third quarter saw the Heats go on a 31-13 scoring spree that really dented the 76er’s hopes, but little would the Heats know that they will require every point of the
third period as the 76er’s rallied back to force a strong comeback in the fourth quarter. Eva Turner, Lou Williams and Thaddeus Young all came off the bench in the fourth and joined forces to outscore the Heats 33-17 in the quarter, but perhaps it was too
little too late.
Nevertheless, the trio impressed with Turner finishing the game with 16 points, while Williams and Young chipped in with 15. The inexperience of the young Philadelphia team
showed as they fouled extensively, resulting in their rivals going to the foul line 20 times more than them; complimented with 16 more free throws.
The Heats on the back of the Big Three with a superb performance by James Jones eased to a 10 point victory over the Philadelphia 76er’s. With such fire power in their ranks,
it is almost certain that somebody will step up and deliver the goods every time they set foot on the court.
As far as the 76er’s are concerned, they cannot boost of the same luxury. Doug Collins Philadelphia’s former player and their new coach is the seventh person to take the
job since 2003 and has to nurture a young team which does not boost big names like their rivals in this game. He has a difficult task ahead and a need to find a way to knit his squad into a team and bring depth and stability within.
The Heats play Orlando next, in their home season opener, and they will be vying to achieve the same result, perhaps with a performance better than today. Their fans will
be hoping that their star players finally get their act together and deliver on their expectations.
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