Heat -- without Adebayo and Wiggins -- takes control in fourth to beat undermanned 76ers
Takeaways from the Heat’s 117-105 win against Philadelphia on Monday at Kaseya Center:
▪ The Heat unraveled in the third quarter and allowed an undermanned team that had lost 11 in a row to hang around far too long. But Miami took control in the fourth and won a game in which five of the two teams’ six best players were sidelined by injuries.
The Heat entered having blown a double-digit lead in an NBA-high 21 losses and having squandered an NBA-high 20 fourth-quarter leads in losses this season.
It looked like it might happen again, as the 76ers erased a 14-point deficit with a 22-6 third quarter spurt that left them up seven.
With the game tied at 88 and just over eight minutes left, Duncan Robinson, Kyle Anderson, Davion Mitchell, Kel’el Ware and Jaime Jaquez Jr. super-charged a rally that put the Heat up nine. Miami outscored the 76ers 34-22 in the fourth to break open a game that was tied after three.
A loss would have been disastrous for Miami, which clings to hopes to move up from 10th in the jockeying for Eastern Conference playoff position.
Next up: a critical game on Wednesday in Chicago, which leads the Heat by a half game for ninth and has already clinched the tiebreaker against Miami.
The Heat played without Bam Adebayo (back spasms) and Andrew Wiggins (sore hamstring), while the 76ers played without injured Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Paul George and several other rotation players.
With Adebayo missing only his third game of the season, Erik Spoelstra opened with a starting group of Ware, Haywood Highsmith, Pelle Larsson, Alec Burks and Tyler Herro.
Miami surged ahead by 14 points in the second quarter, but that lead evaporated and the game went to the fourth tied at 83 before a group of reserves led a furious 16-3 fourth quarter spurt.
“We had our best defensive quarter, and that led us into great energy,” Spoelstra said. And then “it was an offensive explosion.”
The supporting cast was very helpful, to the point that Miami didn’t need a huge game from Herro, who had 20 (on efficient 8 for 14 shooting) and seven turnovers while a focus of Philadelphia’s defense.
He played through a thigh injury that was “a little sore. As the game kept going, it loosened up a little bit more. It feels good now. I will be ready to go against Chicago. I’m trying to play as many games as possible.”
Ware nearly had a double double in the first half alone (eight points, 11 rebounds) and finished with 19 points, 17 rebounds and a block in one of the most impressive efforts of his rookie season.
The 17 rebounds tied Udonis Haslem and Omer Yurtseven for most rebounds in a game by a Heat rookie. And “without Bam,... someone had to put up the shots,” said Ware, who shot 8 for 16.
Davion Mitchell, continuing to inject a spark off the bench, chipped in 12 points, nine assists, four rebounds, a block and a steal and hit two key baskets down the stretch.
Duncan Robinson hit five of his six three-pointers on an 21-point night and had 12 key fourth-quarter points.
“That’s what makes [Robinson] a little bit different; it’s always been about his ignitability,” Spoelstra said. “Two or three go down and it can be an avalanche from there.”
Larsson scored all 12 of his points in the first half.
Kyle Anderson continued to fill the box score, contributing eight points, eight rebounds, six assists and two blocks and making a handful of big plays in the fourth.
Philadelphia hung around in large part thanks to 29 points from both Lonnie Walker IV and Quentin Grimes.
The Heat, 19-21 at Kaseya Center, finishes its regular season home schedule against Washington at 1 p.m. Sunday.
▪ Injuries to the Heat’s best players continued – a sad irony in the post-Jimmy Butler era:
This time, it was Herro returning from a one-game absence and Adebayo and Wiggins sitting out.
After missing six in a row with a hamstring injury, Wiggins participated in shootaround on Monday and seems positioned to return for Wednesday’s big game in Chicago.
The Heat’s FanDuel Sports Sun telecast reported there’s optimism that both Adebayo and Wiggins will be available Wednesday.
Butler’s lack of consistent availability was one of the factors in the Heat bypassing the 2026-27 contract extension he coveted.
But while Wiggins has played in only 15 of 30 games since the trade, Butler has played in 26 of 27 games for the Warriors.
Four different ailments have sidelined Wiggins since joining the Heat - a hamstring, strained ankle, leg contusion and stomach illness.
As for Adebayo, Spoelstra said the spasms began after Saturday’s loss to Milwaukee and “we will treat him day to day.”
▪ The Heat bench, which has been very good over the past nine games (seven wins, two losses), continued to give Miami a lift.
Players who are usually reserves almost entirely fueled a 10-0 run in the second quarter and gave Miami a needed spark during that 16-3 fourth quarter surge.
The Heat’s first half run featured threes from Highsmith (who started Monday) and Robinson; a beautiful bounce pass from Anderson to a cutting Robinson for a layup; a Mitchell blocked shot and an Anderson pass to Jaime Jaquez Jr for a layup.
During Miami’s fourth quarter run, Jaquez hit a big three and had a key block; Anderson made several key plays (including two baskets and a lob to Ware for a dunk); Mitchell hit a big driving layup and a three-pointer; and Robinson hit a three and converted a three-point play on a driving layup and foul. Robinson added two more threes later in the fourth.
Jaquez (five points, five rebounds) logged 15 minutes after playing just 40 minutes in the Heat’s past eight games, including none in the past two.
Heat point guard Terry Rozier was a healthy scratch.
Anderson and Mitchell have helped the Heat’s bench become an asset over the past two weeks.
On Monday, the Heat outscored the 76ers by a game-high 27 points with Mitchell on the court and by 22 with Anderson on the court.
Heading into Monday, the Heat had outscored teams by 59 points with Anderson on the court in Miami’s past seven games and by 76 points with Mitchell on the floor in the past eight games.
▪ Ware moved into a tie for third for most double doubles by a rookie in team history.
His 14th on Monday equaled Grant Long’s 14 double doubles in Miami’s inaugural season (1988-89).
Sherman Douglas had 18 in the Heat’s second season and Rony Seikaly had 18 in the Heat’s first season. They share the team rookie record in that category.
“You can trust him to compete and try to do the right things,” Spoelstra said of Ware. “He’s a glass eater. He finds his way around the basket, too, for really important relief points for us.”
Ware’s 22 double figure rebound games are now two ahead of Seikaly’s previous team record of 20.
Ware entered 20th in the league in rebounds per 36 minutes at 11.9, a figure ahead of Rudy Gobert, Evan Mobley, Adebayo (10.1) and dozens of others.
His 11 first half rebounds tied Adebayo for most boards by a Heat player in a half this season.
After the game, “the first thing he said to me was ‘I think I could have had 20 plus rebounds,”’ Spoelstra said.
Spoelstra then told him he could have had 19 points, 19 rebounds and nine blocks because “he had opportunity for a few more blocks at the rim. That would have been nice if I were to nitpick.”
▪ Now the biggest game of the season awaits.
A loss on Wednesday in Chicago (36-42) means the Heat (36-43) almost certainly would finish ninth or 10th in the conference and probably 10th. A 10th place finish would require Miami to win two road games to qualify for the playoffs.
But a Heat win over Chicago - combined with a Cleveland win at home against the Bulls on Tuesday night - would leave Miami needing only wins against the Pelicans and Wizards to claim the ninth seed, at the very least.
Heat wins against Chicago, New Orleans and Washington - combined with a Chicago loss to Cleveland and two Atlanta losses in its last four games - would give Miami the eighth seed.
The Heat has been eliminated from contention for the seventh seed.
This story was originally published April 7, 2025 at 9:49 PM.
