Sixers Falter In Second Half As Heat Win 119-108
MIAMI (AP) — Luol Deng made 11 of 14 shots and scored 29 points, Goran Dragic added 23 points and 10 assists, and the Miami Heat set a season high for scoring in a 119-108 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night.
Dwyane Wade scored 18 for the Heat, who stayed in the No. 7 spot in the Eastern Conference. Hassan Whiteside added 12 points and 14 rebounds for Miami, which shot 55 percent.
Hollis Thompson scored 22 points for Philadelphia, which got 18 from Nerlens Noel, 16 from Robert Covington, 12 from Henry Sims and 11 from Isaiah Canaan.
It was a good-news day all around for Miami. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said before the game that Chris Bosh — who has blood clots on a lung, a season-ending issue — will be going home "soon" from a hospital where he's been treated since late last week.
Miami outrebounded Philadelphia 45-33.
Philadelphia was up 67-61 early in the third, then got outscored 30-12 over the final 9 minutes of the quarter. Dragic and Deng combined for 20 points in the third, one more than the entire 76ers' roster over that 12 minutes and the outcome wasn't in doubt down the stretch.
It was Dragic's second game with the Heat, and he looked far more acclimated than he did in Saturday's debut against New Orleans. The Heat practiced on Sunday and had their usual gameday shootaround Monday morning, those sessions largely being designed to get the All-NBA third-teamer from last season more entrenched in Miami's playbook.
The results were clear: Dragic made 9 of 14 shots and seemed far more comfortable.
TIP-INS
76ers: The 76ers are now 1-31 when allowing 99 or more points. ... Philadelphia reached the 30-point mark in the first quarter for the sixth time all season, the second against Miami. ... Jerami Grant was held out with a lower back contusion, and Jason Richardson didn't dress because of a left knee contusion.
Heat: The Heat improved to 10-2 when they have at least 25 assists. ... Miami's previous season-high for points was 114, at Philadelphia on Nov. 1. ... Henry Walker had a memorable debut, with three 3-pointers and a drive-the-lane highlight-reel dunk giving him 11 points in the first half. He was bloodied over his right eye in the third quarter, then returned with 3:29 left.
UP NEXT
76ers: At Milwaukee on Wednesday.
Heat: At Orlando on Wednesday.
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