[Philadelphia, PA] Coming off of a very disappointing loss against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday, the Miami Heat wanted to bounce back with a win against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center. Philly and Miami both have 16 wins and 6 losses. A victory for the good guys would keep them as the number two team in the East.

In the first quarter, the Heat and Sixers went back and forth, both hitting 3-pointers and playing great defense. Both Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers scored 6 points in the quarter. This was a battle. At the end of one, the Heat were up 25-24.

In the second quarter, Wade, Norris Cole, and LeBron James combined to score 18 points to keep the Heat in the lead. But the 76ers stayed right with Miami, thanks to the play of Lou Williams and Thaddeus Young.

At halftime, the score was Miami Heat 51, Philadelphia 76ers 47.

Both teams struggled to score throughout the third quarter. The Sixers and the Heat were missing shots left and right. But towards the end of the quarter, LeBron caught fire, scoring 8 points. That propelled led the Heat on an 8-2 run that put them up by four. At the end of three, the Heat were up 67-63.

In the fourth, the Heat took care of business and closed out the game on a 23-8 run which led to a huge lead. The Heat outscored Philly 32-16 in the quarter.

The final score was Heat 99, 76ers 79.

Dwyane Wade scored 26 points while LeBron James managed 19 points and had 12 rebounds. And coming off the bench, Mike Miller registered 13 points.

“In the fourth quarter, we were able to play efficiently and pull away,” said Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra.

The players were equally impressed with themselves.

“This was probably the best game from start to finish in terms of playing together and communicating,” said James.

By: Michael Tristani II/Sunshine Slate

Image: Miami Heat/Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty Images

Miami Heat