Norman Powell scored 32 points and Kel’el Ware registered 20 points and 16 rebounds to guide the visiting Miami Heat to their fourth straight win, a 127-117 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday.
Bam Adebayo contributed 18 points and 13 rebounds for Miami, while Davion Mitchell chipped in with eight points, 12 assists and eight rebounds. Jaime Jaquez Jr. led the Heat reserves with 22 points.
Tyrese Maxey scored 27 points and Trendon Watford contributed 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for Philadelphia, which has alternated losses and wins in each of its last nine games. Andre Drummond pulled down 23 rebounds to go with 14 points.
Sixers center Joel Embiid (knee) continued to sit out, while Paul George (knee) scored 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting as he works his way back from offseason knee surgery.
Miami led by six points entering the fourth quarter, although Philadelphia got within 105-103 with 8 1/2 minutes left. However, the Heat responded with seven straight points — highlighted by Dru Smith’s 3-pointer — to open up a nine-point advantage.
Shortly thereafter, Adebayo’s dunk pushed the lead to 116-105 before Powell dropped in a layup to put the visitors ahead by 13.
Maxey countered with an assist to Watford and a bucket of his own to get the Sixers within 118-109. However, it wasn’t nearly enough, as Jaquez and Powell did enough to keep the Heat comfortably ahead down the stretch.
Fueled by seven offensive rebounds, Miami led 37-27 after one quarter. Powell paced the Heat with 10 points in the opening quarter.
Philadelphia bounced back with a strong second quarter, outscoring the visitors 40-34 with Quentin Grimes (11 points) doing much of the damage. Powell scored 13 more points in the period and went into the locker room with 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting.
The Heat opened the third quarter on a 14-4 run to go in front 85-71 on Adebayo’s dunk with 6:30 left in the period. Maxey and the Sixers fought hard to get within 99-93 heading into the fourth.
