Heat stay hot, rout 76ers
MIAMI -- Tyler Johnson scored 24 points off the bench to lead the Miami Heat to a 125-98 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.
Hassan Whiteside scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Goran Dragic, Dion Waiters, and Wayne Ellington scored 15 points apiece for Miami, which won 17 of its last 20.
The Heat (28-33) closed to 1 1/2 games behind Detroit for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference. The Pistons played in New Orleans later Wednesday.
Philadelphia (22-38), which was led by Robert Covington's 19 points, lost four of five.
James Johnson chipped in 14 points, giving the Heat six players in double figures.
The 76ers snapped the Heat's 13-game winning streak in their previous trip to Miami on Feb. 4, but never threatened in this one.
The Heat never trailed and built a 64-44 halftime lead behind 59 percent shooting from the floor. Dragic and Tyler Johnson each scored 13 points prior to intermission.
The Heat led 56-43 late in the second quarter before an 8-0 burst over a two-minute span stretched the lead to 21. Dragic and Whiteside each made baskets before Tyler Johnson hit back-to-back shots.
Philadelphia trimmed the lead to 14 at the end of the third, but Wayne Ellington's 3 put Miami on top 98-74 a little over two minutes into the fourth quarter and it held a comfortable lead the rest of the way.
NOTES: Heat C Hassan Whiteside recorded his seventh consecutive game with at least 10 rebounds. ... Heat SG Rodney McGruder went to the locker room in the fourth quarter with an apparent left leg injury and did not return. ... Heat C Willie Reed (ankle) missed his second consecutive game after suffering the injury against Indiana on Feb. 25. ... 76ers SF Robert Covington had one steal to snap a streak of 14 games with multiple steals, which was the longest streak in the NBA. ... Sixers PF Richaun Holmes blocked one shot, giving him 11 in four games since Philadelphia traded shot-blocker Nerlens Noel to Dallas.