Heat 97, 76ers 89
Chris Bosh led the way with 25 points and 12 rebounds,
and LeBron James chipped in 21 and 14 as the Miami Heat took down the
visiting Philadelphia 76ers, 97-89, in Game One of the Eastern Conference
first-round series Saturday.
Dwyane Wade added 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Heat, who shot 31 of 39 from the free throw line.
The 76ers trailed by as many as 13, 88-75, in the fourth
quarter after James Jones nailed a 3-pointer with 6:39 left. But Miami
went cold from the floor over the next five minutes, allowing
Philadelphia to cut it all the way down to 88-87, when Thaddeus
Young made his fifth basket of the quarter with 2:23 on the
clock.
In the end the Heat’s “Big Three” were too much, as Bosh, Wade and
James combined for nine points in the final 2:02 to put it away.
The teams meet again Monday night in Miami.
Seventh-seed Philadelphia looked like it would run away from the No. 2 Heat in the first
quarter, shooting 61 percent and building an 31-19 lead.
But Miami got over its playoff jitters in the second, getting 12 points
from James in the frame to surge to a 54-49 halftime advantage.
Young led the 76ers with 20 points and 11 boards.