SB Nation Heat Vs. 76ers, 2011 NBA Playoffs
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Dwyane Wade scored 26 points, Chris Bosh had 22 and the Miami Heat eliminated the Philadelphia 76ers from the playoffs with a 97-91 victory.
Breakfast is over for LeBron James and the Miami Heat. Next is a lunch date with the battled-tested Boston Celtics.
Dwyane Wade scored 26 points, Chris Bosh had 22 and the Miami Heat eliminated Philadelphia from the playoffs Wednesday with a 97-91 victory in Game 5 of their first-round Eastern Conference series.
In three previous games of the series, the Sixers put the Heat in an early hole, something that drove Miami coach Erik Spoelstra bonkers.
It happened again in Game 5. The Sixers led 13-4 when Spoelstra was forced to call timeout. And once again, the Heat responded.
After the timeout, Miami outscored Philly 23-10 and scored 14 consecutive points at one point. That 10-point deficit was suddenly a four-point lead.
Lucky for the Heat, they were playing the Sixers and not, say, the Celtics or the Hawks, both of whom might have been able to capitalize further. Still, Spoelstra wants to make sure credit is given to Philadelphia for their effort in the series.
"People say we weren't ready, and that's a discredit to the Philadelphia 76ers...We had to fight this entire series. They pushed us the entire way and made us find different ways to win."
Now the Heat move on to the second round where they'll meet the Boston Celtics.
Check out our Heat vs. Sixers hub for full coverage of this series. For more on the Heat, visit Peninsula Is Mightier. For more on the Sixers, visit Liberty Ballers and SB Nation Philly.
Philadelphia put up a valiant effort but Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat were not going to be denied. Wade finished with 26 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists while helping close out the 76ers. His teammate, LeBron James just missed out on a triple double of his own with 16 points, 10 boards, and eight assists.
The Heat built an eight point lead in the fourth before Philly came back to cut it to two. Andre Iguodala made big basket after big basket down the stretch, but the 76ers never could come up with that key stop and basket to tie the game. Iguodala and Elton Brand finished with 22 points each. Thaddeus Young came off the bench to score 13.
Miami's three-point shooting was the big difference in this one as they went 12-30 from deep. Mario Chalmers came off the bench to score 20 points including six threes by himself.
Philadelphia enjoyed a great season under new coach Doug Collins who early in the series said that his team wasn't as good as Miami. Collins had to be pleased with the effort he got from his team in Games 4 & 5.
Check out our Heat vs. Sixers hub for full coverage of this series. For more on the Heat, visit Peninsula Is Mightier. For more on the Sixers, visit Liberty Ballers and SB Nation Philly.
Mario Chalmers has 20 points off the bench and has helped the Heat to a 72-67 lead over Philadelphia after three quarters of play. Chalmers has six of Miami's ten three-point makes which has enabled the Heat to stay in front despite being outplayed by Philadelphia in most other categories. Chris Bosh has 17 points while Dwyane Wade has 14 points and 10 rebounds for Miami.
The 76ers built some confidence in the third but saw LeBron James score five straight points at the end of the quarter to help give the Heat a little cushion heading to the fourth. Elton Brand has 18 points helping contribute to Philadelphia's sizable advantage in points in the paint. Andre Iguodala has been a factor offensively with 15 points while Jodie Meeks has 12.
Check out our Heat vs. Sixers hub for full coverage of this series. For more on the Heat, visit Peninsula Is Mightier. For more on the Sixers, visit Liberty Ballers and SB Nation Philly.
You heard LeBron James' remark about the Miami Heat beating the Philadelphia 76ers being a mere case of breakfast-finishing? Philly players appear to have transitioned surprisingly well to their opponent's musical cannibalism, with Lou Williams and Spencer Hawes leading the healing process.
After an offensive first quarter, things slowed down in the second with the Miami Heat taking a 45-42 lead over the Philadelphia 76ers into halftime. Philadelphia has been content with cutting off the lane and is letting Miami fire away from outside. The Heat have already attempted 16 three-pointers having connected on six with Mario Chalmers doing most of the damage.
Chalmers leads all Miami scorers with 14 points and is 4-9 from three-point range. Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh each have 10 points and seven rebounds. LeBron James was quiet in the opening half recording just three points while only attempting six shots from the field. James does lead Miami with five assists.
Philly has been at their best when they have been able to get out in transition or when feeding Elton Brand down low. Brand has 14 points to lead the 76ers while Jodie Meeks tossed in eight points.
Check out our Heat vs. Sixers hub for full coverage of this series. For more on the Heat, visit Peninsula Is Mightier. For more on the Sixers, visit Liberty Ballers and SB Nation Philly.
The 76ers started fast once again building an early 14-4 advantage before Miami came roaring back to capture a 27-23 lead at the end of one. Mario Chalmers came off of the bench to spark the Heat scoring 11 points including going 3-6 from three-point range including a 30-foot bomb with just 0.1 seconds left on the clock. Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade each chipped in four points for Miami.
Philadelphia came out with a lot of energy before settling for a lot of long jump shots late in the quarter. Elton Brand and Jodie Meeks each have eight points to the lead the way for the 76ers. If Philly has a chance in this game then they are going to have to pick up their play on defense and look to run to get easy opportunities against a good defensive Miami club.
Check out our Heat vs. Sixers hub for full coverage of this series. For more on the Heat, visit Peninsula Is Mightier. For more on the Sixers, visit Liberty Ballers and SB Nation Philly.
Few people figured we would be at this point after the Miami Heat took a slim lead down the stretch of Game 4 vs. the Philadelphia 76ers. It looked like the Heat would close it out and officially set their second-round matchup with the Boston Celtics. Instead, Jrue Holiday and Lou Williams hit three-pointers, the Heat had their typical crunch-time problems and the 76ers were able to win and force a Game 5. On Wednesday at 7 p.m. on TNT, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and company will look to end the series in Miami.
The Heat will no doubt be smarting at their inability to execute down the stretch, but they also will need to get off to a better start than they did in Game 4 on Sunday. The 76ers flew out of the gate early and took a 15-point first quarter lead, getting their transition game in gear. Miami eventually rallied, using a stifling half-court trap to tie the game in the second quarter, but they should not have made it more difficult on themselves. If they can get off to a good start on Wednesday, it might be enough against a young 76ers team.
The 76ers, meanwhile, got a slightly better game from Andre Iguodala in Game 4 (16 points on 13 shots), but he will need to be even better if they want to win on Miami's home floor. Ironically, the 76ers have gotten fairly consistent production from young point guard Jrue Holiday. Iguodala, though, has been stifled, thanks in part to a knee injury and having to expend energy chasing James around. Williams and rookie Evan Turner will also need to duplicate their Game 4 efforts. Both had 17 points off the bench, and both made key shots down the stretch.
If Miami wins, they will face the Celtics in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Sunday afternoon. If not, Game 6 will be on Friday. If the Heat win Game 6, Game 1 vs. the Celtics will still be on Sunday. If, however, the 76ers win both games, Game 7 will be Sunday and Game 1 of the next round will be pushed back.
Check out our Heat vs. Sixers hub for full coverage of this series. For more on the Heat, visit Peninsula Is Mightier. For more on the Sixers, visit Liberty Ballers and SB Nation Philly.
Miami Heat Starting Lineup Struggles Against Sixers; Will Erik Spoelstra Make A Change?
The Miami Heat came away with a convincing 4-1 series victory over the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the 2011 NBA Playoffs, but there was one huge, blinking problem for the team: the starting lineup. The Heat's starting five of Mike Bibby and Zydrunas Ilgauskas along with Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh struggled mightily against the Sixers, and in Game 5 fell behind 13-4 in the first quarter.
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra quickly turned to Mario Chalmers, who ended up having a huge scoring night, and energetic defensive-minded center Joel Anthony, who came up big in the closing minutes of the win. Bibby and Big Z remained on the bench for the rest of the game, as Spoelstra went with Chalmers and Anthony to start the third quarter, doing so for the first time in the series despite repeated issues for the Bibby-Ilgauskas unit.
Tom Haberstroh of Heat Index writes that while Spoelstra hasn't decided on a starting five for the Boston Celtics' series, which begins Sunday, the third quarter shift indicates that the coach's previous stubbornness on including the veterans in the starting five could be lifting. Haberstroh notes that Bibby and Ilgauskas started for the Heat when the teams last met early in April, with Miami pulling out a win.
See our Heat vs. Celtics hub for full series coverage.
Apr 28 9:37a by Tom Ziller - 0 comments