Different Venue, Same Result for Sixers-Heat

By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)

Miami 103, Philadelphia 98 – Box Score

Two nights after facing each other in Philadelphia, the Sixers and Heat were back at it Sunday evening in Miami. In a vacuum, the game was a fairly good performance from Brett Brown’s crew. Missing their two young big men in Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel, Philadelphia fought hard against a Heat team fighting for home-court advantage in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Sixers went into the locker room with a halftime lead following an Ish Smith buzzer beater; they even still led 79-73 early in the fourth quarter.

Go ahead and count that, Ish. (CSN) https://t.co/cwoRTb3jAp

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) March 7, 2016

In the bigger picture though, it was the 12th straight defeat for Philadelphia, and yet another opportunity to slip through the team’s fingers. After a Hollis Thompson three (4-9 from downtown for 16 points) put the Sixers up 6, Miami followed with a 10-2 run, capped by a Dwyane Wade jumper. Wade caused trouble for the Sixers all game long, finishing with 23 points on 13-14 shooting from the foul line. A 7-0 Heat burst a couple minutes later would put things away for good.

The Sixers will be back on the court Wednesday night at home against Houston. Given the fact that the Lakers are now 4.5 games ahead of Philadelphia, it’s safe to say everyone is rooting full-bore for this losing skid to finally end.

Other Game Notes:

• Ish Smith clearly likes facing the Heat. Following his 26-point effort Friday night, he knocked down 8-12 shots for 21 points in this contest, chipping in 5 assists. He’s also hit at least one three in five straight games, the longest such stretch of his career.
• Carl Landry received his second straight start with the young guys out, and tallied a season-high 18 points, including double digits in the first quarter alone. He was a -21 for the game, and helped allow Hassan Whiteside along his way to a final line of 14 points, 13 rebounds, and 7 blocks. As much as I enjoy the mid-range jumper stylings of Mr. Landry, it’s pretty shocking we haven’t even seen Christian Wood receive any action in the two games since being signed from the D-league.