Heat Up 2-0 After 94-73 Victory
MIAMI (CBSMiami.com) - The Philadelphia 76ers came into Game 2 wanting to hold the Heat's Big Three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh under 75 points.
The 76ers did just that, holding the Big Three to just 64 points. And the 76ers still got killed by the Heat, 94-73.
The victory sent the Heat to a 2-0 series lead as the series shifts to Philadelphia for Games 3 and 4.
The biggest question heading into Game 2 between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Miami Heat was whether guard Dwyane Wade would make start and how effective he would be in the game.
After the Heat took the court in the first quarter, the game was effectively over because the 76ers never mounted much of a challenge.
Chris Bosh got the scoring started early with a quick hook shot. But Wade quickly jumped into the scoring with a hook shot of his own and then threw down a dunk with 7:55 to go in the first quarter to help electrify the crowd.
The Heat's defense jumped on the 76ers early and often which helped spark the Heat to an early 13-5 lead halfway through the first quarter.
But even as good as the Heat played, they could have been up much more if Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Joel Anthony could have held on to the ball when it was passed to them.
James Jones capped off the scoring for the Heat in the first quarter by hitting a fadeaway jumper as time expired.
As good as the Heat played, the 76ers just couldn't buy a basket through much of the first quarter and into the second quarter.
In the second, Chris Bosh again got the scoring started. James Jones was getting the tough rebounds for the Heat as the 76ers were limited to mainly one and done throughout the first half.
But it wasn't until about five minutes left in the second quarter did the crowd really come alive. Heat forward LeBron James should have had to buy a ticket on American Airlines he flew so much to throw down a one handed slam to get the crowd rocking.
It was the Heat who once again came storming out in the second quarter and just shut down the 76ers a la Game One. At the end of the second quarter, the Heat led the 76ers 49-31.
In the first half, the 76ers shot 26 percent from the field, while the Heat hit 50 percent of their shots. Bosh led the Heat with 13 points, followed by LeBron with 12, and Wade with 10.
Evan Turner paced the 76ers with 10 points in the first half.
As the Heat came out of the half, the offense started a little slowly, but still pulled out to a 20 point lead early in the third quarter.
LeBron took the ball hard to the hole and helped bring the lead back up to 21 with 7:23 left in the third by converting the three-point play.
James Jones hit a key three pointer with 3 minutes to go to drive the score up to 71-50. But for the 76ers, they had to be having indigestion because LeBron kept coming and coming and coming all night long.
LeBron had 25 through three quarters to help lead the Heat to a 75-52 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The only question coming into the fourth quarter would be exactly how bad the final score would end up.
As Dwyane Wade came into the game with about nine minutes to go in the game, the entire media area began asking the question, why is he in the game?
The Heat pulled out to a 26-point lead with 4 minutes to go in the fourth and the bench was emptied by Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra.
Not surprisingly, the stands began to empty around the same time.
LeBron finished the game with 29 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. Chris Bosh had 21 points and 11 rebounds; and Dwyane Wade poured in 14 points and had 6 rebounds and 2 assists to help the Heat grab the 2-0 series lead.
