Heat drubs depleted 76ers to push winning streak to four. Takeaways and details
Takeaways from the Heat’s 118-95 win against the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night at Wells Fargo Center:
▪ A 76ers team missing its three stars – and 8 of its 10 highest paid players – hung around for awhile before the Heat took control late in the third to earn its fourth consecutive win on the heels of a 10-game losing streak.
Down 8-2 early, Miami surged ahead 34-29 after a quarter and 62-53 at the half but didn’t begin to dominate until the game’s final 17 minutes.
After the 76ers closed to within three with five minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Heat - fueled by three threes from Alec Burks, a three from Haywood Highsmith and two baskets from Bam Adebayo - erupted on a 24-6 run and to open up a 96-75 lead after three.
Burks closed that avalanche by swishing a three just before the third quarter buzzer.
This was a night full of superlative performances.
Tyler Herro – coming off a 36-point, 13 for 17 shooting performance against Atlanta – delivered another gem: 30 points on 11 for 17 shooting, including 5 for 9 on threes.
His 17-point first half included a circus shot in which he split two 76ers defenders, drew a foul while throwing the ball underhanded into the basket and then hit the ensuing free throw. He added 13 points in the second half and closed the night with seven assists.
“He’s playing so patiently without the ball,” Erik Spoelstra said. “It’s really slowing down for him. The more aggressive you are, he’ll play off the ball. He’s playing less and less bringing the ball up the court and running an angle pick and roll. He’s playing off a catch, playing off overreactions.
“He’s so skilled; if you are getting him on the move like that, he’s a handful. And he’s burning a lot less calories doing it as well. Guys are getting comfortable getting him the ball when he’s on the move.”
Meanwhile, rookie center Kel’el Ware was excellent, hitting all five of his shots during an 11-point, 8-rebound first half en route to closing with 13 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks. He closed 6 for 6 from the field.
Ware crashed the glass for four offensive rebounds in the first half. His 12th double-double is the fourth most for a rookie in Heat history and is tied with the Pelicans’ Yves Missi for most by any rookie in the league.
And this was critical: Pelle Larsson aced this third start, providing the type of rugged effort, across-the-board contributions and defensive verve that have earned him admiration from the coaching staff and teammates. His final numbers were glowing: 14 points (5 for 11 shooting), six rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks.
Alec Burks finished off his best week of the season with 20 points on 7 for 13 shooting.
Highsmith added 13 points, six rebounds and two steals.
It hardly mattered that Bam Adebayo shot 5 for 14. He chipped in 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists and hit his two three-point attempts, making him 10 for his last 19.
The 23-51 76ers - playing without Joel Embiid, Paul George, Tyrese Maxey and five other rotation players - fielded a starting group of Guerschon Yabusele, Justin Edwards, Adam Bona, Jared Butler and Quentin Grimes.
With the score lopsided, Heat guard Isaiah Stevens made his NBA debut late in the game.
▪ Miami’s shooting remained sizzling.
The Heat’s offense was the league’s worst in points per game, and the worst in offensive efficiency, during the 10-game losing streak that preceded this four-game surge.
But Miami has been the league’s best shooting team since then, making 56.6 percent of its shots overall and 54 percent on threes in the three wins heading into Saturday, when the Heat closed at 47.3 overall and 46.5 on threes.
Against the 76ers, the Heat sank 6 of its first 8 threes, finishing 20 for 43.
This was one of the best three-point shooting weeks in Heat history; Miami has shot 67 of 130 on threes (51.5 percent) during these four games. Per the Heat’s Couper Moorhead, Miami became the second team in NBA history to shoot at least 51.5 percent on at least 130 three-point attempts over four games. The 2015-16 Warriors also did it.
Miami shot 17 for 25 on threes against Golden State and 18 for 33 against Atlanta, making the Heat 32-0 since 2019 when it shoots 50 percent or better on threes.
“Guys are moving the ball, sharing, making quick decisions,” Spoelstra said. “It’s good to see guys playing free and confident.”
And this was big: The Heat had 33 assists, compared with just nine turnovers.
“Since I’ve been on the Heat, that’s always how we’ve been at our best,... the ball popping, finding energy, finding open shots,” Herro said. “We came out really intentional, sharing the ball.”
Adebayo, also citing the assists as a key, said: “I’m proud of how we responded” to the 10-game skid. “We didn’t let go of the rope. Found a breakthrough. Now the question is how we can sustain this success.”
▪ With Andrew Wiggins (hamstring) and Duncan Robinson (back) remaining behind in South Florida, Spoelstra stuck with Burks as a starter for the third consecutive game and started Larsson for the third time this season.
The quintet of Adebayo, Herro, Burks, Larsson and Ware was Miami’s 25th different starting group of the season.
The rookie Larsson shot 3 for 13, and was a minus 14, in his two previous starts this season, losses to Philadelphia and Minnesota.
Saturday’s start went much, much better. In the second quarter, Larsson again sacrificed his body to dive for a loose ball, picked it up and hit Burks for a layup.
And Larsson continued to make signature defensive plays, including a block on a Grimes shot; a steal and a layup; and another steal and behind-the-back pass to Ware, who was fouled.
The Heat was a plus 26 during Larsson’s 30 minutes.
Burks, meanwhile, was again very good, shooting 6 for 12 on threes. He entered having scoring a combined 28 points on 8 for 13 three-point shooting in starts against the Warriors and Hawks.
▪ Terry Rozier came out of mothballs, making his first appearance in six games.
After being removed from the rotation for the previous five games, Rozier entered with the Heat ahead by five and 4:02 left in the first half.
Rozier missed a jumper and reverse layup and threw an errant alley-oop to Ware in his four scoreless minutes.
But at least it wasn’t a repeat of the disaster of his last two appearances, when he was a minus 31 in 33 minutes, with 2 for 12 shooting in lopsided losses to Memphis and the Knicks.
Rozier missed his one three-point attempt and is now 88 for 294 from behind the arc, a shade below 30 percent.
That ranks 168th among 171 players and second-worst among guards (ahead of only Spurs rookie defensive standout Stephon Castle).
▪ The Heat’s chances of moving to the seventh or eighth seed continue to diminish, even during this winning streak.
The Magic beat Sacramento to improve to 36-39 and move past 36-39 Atlanta for seventh in the East. Miami trails both teams by 2.5 games for a spot in the 7-8 play-in game.
As it stands, the Heat seems headed to a 9-10 play-in game against Chicago. The 10th-seeded Heat (33-41) moved into a tie with No. 9 Chicago (33-41) after the Bulls lost to Dallas on Saturday night. Chicago owns the tiebreaker with Miami, which plays on the road against the Bulls on April 9.
Teams that play in the 9-10 game must go 2-0 in the play-in to qualify for the playoffs as the eighth seed.
“We have our eyes set on that play in,” Herro said. “We have a chance to get that 8th seed and make it a competitive series.”
Next up for Miami: a Monday night game at woeful Washington, before tougher assignments await Wednesday in Boston and Thursday at home against Memphis.
This story was originally published March 29, 2025 at 9:38 PM.
