Heat 96, 76ers 91
MIAMI -- The Philadelphia 76ers attempt to win their first game of the season was denied as the Miami Heat rallied to win 96-91 on Saturday at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Philadelphia (0-14) has lost 24 games in a row dating to last season. Their most recent win came on March 25 in Denver.
Guard Dwyane Wade led Miami (8-4) with a season-high 27 points. Heat center Hassan Whiteside had 13 points, nine rebounds and eight blocks.
Heat forward Chris Bosh hit the game-tying three-pointer with 2:23 left, and Miami finally went ahead after two free throws by guard Gerald Green with 1:30 remaining.
Over the past two-plus years, the Sixers are 37-141. Yet, they are 3-5 against the Heat, including 2-2 at Miami.
The Sixers were led by a pair of reserves - guard Isaiah Canaan with 22 points and forward Robert Covington with 21 points.
Covington hit a 3-pointer after starting 0-for-18 in that category. In fact, Covington went 2 for 2 from that same spot - the left elbow - in the first period.
At the end of the first quarter, Philadelphia had a 28-16 lead, holding Miami to 31.8-percent shooting and forcing eight turnovers. Philadelphia turned the ball over only three times and got 13 points off the bench from Covington.
Bridging the first and second quarters, Philadelphia had a 24-4 run. When the Sixers grabbed a 47-31 lead late in the second period, it was their largest advantage of the season.
Things were going so well for the Sixers that Canaan hit a 3-pointer from at least five feet beyond the stripe. Even so, Heat point guard Goran Dragic fouled him, and Canaan converted that into a rare four-point play.
One of the only first-half Heat highlights came when Wade passed 19,000 points, moving past Dale Ellis for 50th place on the NBA career scoring list. Wade later passed Reggie Theus for 49th.
But even with Wade's 17 first-half points, Philadelphia took a 47-32 lead into the break.
Miami cut its deficit to seven points, trailing 74-67 after three quarters. In fact, the Heat got as close as two points in the third before the Sixers pushed back.
NOTES: Heat F Luol Deng (illness) missed practice on Friday but started against the 76ers. ... Heat F Amar'e Stoudemire, who has played only two games this season, was a healthy scratch. He scored 10 points in eight minutes off the bench in Miami's previous game, a win over the Sacramento Kings on Thursday. ... The 76ers have only one player older than 24 - F Carl Landry, 32. The team's youngest player is rookie C Jahlil Okafor, 19. ... The average age of the Sixers starting lineup - Okafor, F Nerlens Noel, F Jerami Grant, G T.J. McConnell and G Nik Stauskas - is 21.2. Five 76ers are out injured: C Joel Embiid (foot), Landry (wrist), G Kendall Marshall (knee), G Tony Wroten (knee) and F Richaun Holmes (hamstring). ... Okafor and Heat rookie F Justise Winslow were teammates at Duke last season and exchanged greetings before the game.