The Miami Heat had a chance to tie the series, but once again, their collapses in the fourth quarter became their undoing. It was a high spirited and intense game between the two teams, which saw players like Robert Covington and James Johnson get assessed with technical fouls, plus minor scrapes for Josh Richardson and Justise Winslow. It was another physical outing, with the same result for Philadelphia, this time winning a 106 to 102 victory.
Hassan Whiteside, who was completely absent throughout the series, entered the series with a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds. Dwyane Wade and Goran Dragic scored 25 and 20 points respectively for Miami. While those numbers looked good for the Heat, along with getting eleven steals in the first half, their turnovers were glaring The Heat committed 18 turnovers to Philadelphia’s 12. It should be also noted that the Heat were outscored in the fourth, scoring only 19 points to the Sixers’ 27 points, and allowing the Sixers to go on a 14 to 2 run.
With the Sixers, J.J. Redick led them with 24 points, while Joel Embiid (pronounced Em-beed) made a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds, plus Ben Simmons with a triple double of 17 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists. Philadelphia responded to the Heat’s aggressiveness down the stretch, tiring them out on the defensive end and taking course of action on offense.
Along with the number of turnovers that Miami committed, the Heat were out-rebounded compared to the Sixers. Miami had 43 rebounds to Philadelphia’s 57. Another problem that hurt Miami’s chances of tying the series was their free throw shooting. Miami shot 13 for 25 from behind the charity stripe, while Philly were 27 for 35.
With the Heat down three games to one, they now find themselves one game away from elimination. Game 5 takes place Tuesday at 8pm and will be televised locally on Sun Sports and nationally on TNT.
The Heat Check Magazine 