Shorthanded Heat hands 76ers first home loss of the season
.JPG "Heat’s Bam Adebayo (13) tries to get around 76ers’ Joel Embiid (21) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2019, in Philadelphia.")
The Heat is one of only two road teams to defeat the Bucks and was the first road team to defeat the Raptors this season.
On Wednesday, the Heat (20-8) added another road accomplishment to the list with a 108-104 victory over the 76ers (20-9) at Wells Fargo Center to end its three-game trip at 2-1. It marked Philadelphia’s first home loss of the season, with the 76ers entering as the league’s only remaining team with an undefeated home record at 14-0.
After a 27-point loss to the 76ers in Philadelphia in the teams’ first meeting of the season on Nov. 23, the Heat took control of Wednesday’s matchup with a big second quarter. Trailing by as many as 12 points in the first half, the Heat closed the second quarter on a 27-7 run to enter halftime with an eight-point lead.
The 76ers never led in the second half, with the Heat managing to hold onto its lead the rest of the way. Philadelphia made Miami work until the end, though, pulling within two points with 25.7 seconds to play.
That was the closest the 76ers would get, as Heat big man Bam Adebayo made two free throws with 1.5 seconds remaining to clinch the win.
Adebayo finished with 23 points, nine rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks.
Undrafted rookie guard Kendrick Nunn led the Heat’s offense with a team-high 26 points, to go with four rebounds and five assists.
The Heat sprinkled in its zone defense throughout the game, with the look working to get the 76ers offense out of rhythm. Philadelphia shot 42.2 percent from the field and 12 of 39 on threes, with All-Star center Joel Embiid finishing with 22 points and 19 rebounds.
In his second game back in Philadelphia after leaving the 76ers to join the Heat in free agency this past summer, wing Jimmy Butler recorded 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
The Heat avoided consecutive losses again, moving to 8-0 after a loss through the first 28 games of the season. It’s already the longest into a season Miami has gone without recording consecutive losses in franchise history.
The Heat now returns to Miami for a four-game homestand that begins Friday against the Knicks. Following Wednesday’s win, the Heat plays just two games during an eight-day span — Friday against the the Knicks and Monday against the Jazz.
