Heat at 76ers
THE STORY: The Philadelphia 76ers will get a second chance to
make a statement game at home against the Miami Heat on Friday. They
hope it goes better than the last opportunity, when Miami snapped
Philadelphia's four-game winning streak with a 20-point blowout victory
Feb. 3 that triggered a stretch of 11 losses in 17 games for the 76ers.
The Heat have won the last nine regular season meetings.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN, CS Philadelphia (76ers), SunSports (Heat), ESPN3.com
ABOUT THE HEAT (31-11):
In the midst of a six-game stretch against Eastern Conference
contenders, Miami is coming off back-to-back road losses at Orlando and
Chicago, which was without reigning league MVP Derrick Rose. Dwyane Wade
(36) and LeBron James combined for 71 of the 102 points versus the
Bulls as the Heat absorbed their fourth consecutive defeat away from
home. Miami has been destroyed on the backboards in the past two games,
getting outrebounded by a combined 96-70.
ABOUT THE 76ERS (25-18):
Philadelphia's three-game winning streak was snapped in a 111-94 loss
at Indiana on Wednesday, which coach Doug Collins called the team's
worst defensive performance of the season. The one positive was the
return of starting center Spencer Hawes, who had missed 17 straight
games with a strained Achilles. The 76ers made a move to bolster their
bench Thursday, acquiring swingman Sam Young from the Memphis Grizzlies
for the rights to Brazilian forward Ricky Sanchez.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. The Heat have not lost five straight road games since dropping nine in a row at the end of the 2007-08 season.
2. Philadelphia's streak of holding an opponent to less than 100 points ended at 12 games Wednesday.
3. The 76ers allowed a season-high point total in a 113-92 loss at Miami on Jan. 21.