Whiteside, Wade Lead Heat Past 76ers 112-102
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PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Hassan Whiteside had 19 points and 19 rebounds, Dwyane Wade scored 21 points and the Miami Heat beat the Philadelphia 76ers 112-102 on Friday night for their fourth straight win.
Goran Dragic added 15 points and 11 assists for the Heat. Luol Deng scored 13 points and Joe Johnson, Amar'e Stoudemire and Gerald Green had 12 points each.
Ish Smith had 26 points, eight rebounds and five assists and Robert Covington scored 25 points for the depleted 76ers, who were missing several key players. Philadelphia has lost 11 straight.
The Heat improved to 7-2 since losing Chris Bosh to a blood clot in his calf. They are 4-0 since signing Johnson after the seven-time All-Star agreed to a buyout with the Brooklyn Nets.
Elton Brand made his first appearance this season after coming out of retirement to sign with the Sixers on Jan. 4. He played for the first time since May 20, 2015, when he was on the Atlanta Hawks. The 36-year-old forward came in to start the second quarter and finished with eight points and four rebounds in 13 minutes.
Hollis Thompson added 14 points for Philadelphia but shot just 5 for 17 from the field.
The Sixers were playing without top big men Jahlil Okafor (shin) and Nerlens Noel (knee). Nick Stauskas and Kendall Marshall were also held out due to illnesses.
Trailing by 10 with 7:30 left in the third quarter, the undermanned Sixers scored the next 13 points to take a 72-69 lead. The spurt was highlighted by Thompson's 3-pointer that tied the game and Jerami Grant's emphatic dunk and free throw that gave Philly its first lead.
Led by Wade, Miami responded with a quick 11-1 run of its own to go back ahead 80-73 with 2:19 left in the third quarter. Wade had a big transition dunk and three-point play during that time. The Heat never trailed again, opening up a 99-86 lead with 6:14 left on a 3-pointer from Green following a nifty move and feed from Dragic.
Green hit another 3 to put Miami up 104-88 with 4:37 left.
The Heat opened the game on 16-2 run, highlighted by a big dunk from Stoudemire on a dish from Wade. They went ahead 40-29 after one quarter after Whiteside blocked a shot on one end and had a strong putback on the other. Miami led 59-49 at halftime.
TIP-INS
Heat: Miami has won 25 of its last 29 games vs. Philadelphia. ... Stoudemire left in the first quarter with a head laceration but returned. ... The Heat scored more than twice as many points in the first quarter (40) as they did in the second quarter (19).
76ers: On the same night Brand made his debut for the Sixers, Baron Davis played his first game for Philly's D-League affiliate, the Delaware 87ers. Brand and Davis were both top three picks in the 1999 Draft. ... Christian Wood was called up from the 87ers before the game and signed to a 10-day contract by Philadelphia. ... Assistant coach Chris Babcock just returned from an eight-day trip to see Dario Saric, who was acquired by the Sixers during the 2014 NBA draft but has been playing in Turkey ever since. Coach Brett Brown said he has a "gut feeling" Saric will suit up for the Sixers next season.
UP NEXT
Heat: Host the 76ers on Sunday night.
76ers: Visit the Heat on Sunday night.
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