Sixers Can't Handle the Heat in Game One

Game on the line, a sold-out arena standing in anticipation.

Dwyane Wade relished those moments in 2006. And apparently still does.

Playing with five fouls yet attacking nonetheless, Wade scored five of his 17 points in the final 1:34 to help the Miami Heat hold off a huge comeback try by Philadelphia and beat the 76ers 97-89 on Saturday in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

Chris Bosh scored 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, while LeBron James finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds, making them the sixth and seventh players to record double-doubles in their Heat playoff debuts.

And the game wasn't decided until the final moments, when Wade came off the bench to take over at point guard and direct Miami to its first Game 1 victory since the 2006 Eastern Conference finals.

“I was just reading the game, getting off the ball a lot, just trying to read how they defended me so at that moment I thought I would get a little aggressive,” Wade said.

Game 2 is Monday in Miami.

Philadelphia held the Heat scoreless for 4:37 of the fourth quarter and scored 12 straight points to close to 88-87, but never got the lead in the final minutes. Thaddeus Young had 20 points and 11 rebounds for the 76ers, while Jrue Holiday added 19 and Elton Brand finished with 17.

Thanks largely to Wade, though, Miami escaped.

Since the NBA went to best-of-seven opening rounds in 2003, No. 2 seeds who win Game 1 of their quarterfinal series have advanced 12 of 13 times, the lone exception being Dallas against San Antonio last year.

And when James and Wade get to enjoy 1-0 series leads, things tend to work out for them. The Heat have advanced all five times when taking a 1-0 lead with Wade on the team; the Cleveland Cavaliers won seven of eight series with James after winning Game 1s.

Much like Miami's three regular-season wins over Philadelphia, the Heat had to work for this one.

Brand's rebound and short jumper with 7:58 left got Philadelphia within seven _ the margin had been 16 late in the third quarter. And Wade went to the bench 38 seconds later with his fifth foul.

In past postseasons, that would have been white-knuckle time in Miami.

Not this time _ at least, not at first. Joel Anthony made one of two free throws, getting the rebound on the second and extending a possession that was quickly capped by a 3-pointer from James Jones that put Miami up 88-75. James extended both arms skyward, several Heat players shook their fists in unison on the bench, and Miami knew it was on its way to a 1-0 series lead.

Except, well, the 76ers had other ideas.

They scored the game's next 12 points, getting within one on Young's spectacular reverse layup with 2:23 left. Young started the burst with a layup while losing his sneaker _ he tossed it into the crowd going back downcourt _ and Holiday made 3-pointers on consecutive possessions.

But the 76ers never got the lead back. Wade hit a high-arching bank shot for a 92-87 lead with 1:34 left. A pair of free throws by the 2006 NBA finals MVP with 1:10 left restored the five-point edge, and James made it a three-possession game with two more foul shots with 15.6 seconds remaining.

Miami was 31 for 39 from the line. Philadelphia was only 12 for 15.

In terms of playoff experience among starters, Miami held an overwhelming edge. Heat first-stringers had a combined 292 playoff starts entering Saturday, compared with just 29 for Philadelphia. Three of the Sixers' starters _ Holiday, Jodie Meeks and Spencer Hawes _ were making their postseason debuts.

That didn't seem to matter in the opening minutes.

Just like the teams' last regular-season meeting on March 25, the 76ers came out flying. They made eight of their first 10 shots, and when Meeks made a 3-pointer with 4:12 left in the first quarter Philadelphia had a 25-11 lead. At period's end, it was still 31-19 Philadelphia, on 61 percent shooting compared to 32 percent by Miami.

Miami's “White Hot” playoff theme was generating no heat. Until the second quarter, that is.

Miami rallied from 16 down during the second period of the March 25 game, and essentially pulled off a replay on Saturday. A 26-7 run to start the quarter gave the Heat the lead. Miami outrebounded Philadelphia 17-5 over those 12 minutes and carried a 54-49 advantage into the break.

And the third quarter was about Bosh. He outscored Philadelphia's starters 10-9 in the period, got the crowd up with a long series of shouts after a dunk late in the period, and Miami pulled away by as many as 16 before Philadelphia cut it to 80-69 entering the fourth.
 

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