Dwyane Wade should take as much time as he needs to get completely healthy. The way the Heat is playing right now, it doesn’t really need him.
The Heat improved to 6-0 in games without Wade on Saturday with a 113-92 victory against the young and talented Philadelphia 76ers. Chris Bosh and LeBron James combined to score 58 points, or eight more points than the 76ers’ five starters combined. It was arguably Bosh’s best game with the Heat, and James was simply incredible in the fourth quarter.
“Everyone has stepped up their play with D-Wade being absent, and we expect nothing less,” said James, who had another massive line: 28 points, nine rebounds, five assists, four steals and three blocks. “It’s great to get some home wins; it’s great to beat some really good teams, but we’ve got to continue to push forward.”
Wade, who missed his third consecutive game with a sprained ankle, watched from the bench as the Heat showed off its garish throwback uniforms of the 1971-72 Floridians. Nothing says 1970s Miami quite like magenta and orange vertical stripes and the duds made for a festive atmosphere.
Then James went disco inferno in the fourth quarter and burned the place down with his brilliance, scoring 12 points in a span of 4 minutes, 16 seconds. “That’s part of his genius,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
James was 12 of 17 from the field and Bosh had 30 points on 11-of-19 shooting and made 7 of 7 from the free-throw line. He also had seven rebounds, five assists, two blocks and two steals. It was one of Bosh’s most complete games in a Heat uniform — and he has scored 30 points in two of his past three games — but he shrugged off any notion that he’s thriving because Wade isn’t playing.
“It’s hard work, repetition and getting as many shots up as possible and forgetting the last play,” Bosh said. “I plan to do that when we get lucky and get Wade back.”The Heat (11-4) led by 19 to begin the fourth quarter, but the 76ers (11-5) quickly cut the lead to nine points with a 10-0 run to begin the period. A three-pointer from Jrue Holiday made it Heat 92-81 with 6:44 to play.
LeBron answered with four points in a row, and Bosh followed with a dunk, but consecutive three-pointers from 76ers sixth man Lou Williams kept the visitors within striking distance.
But James was simply too much. He scored 12 points in little more than four minutes to put the game away. His 17-foot fadeaway with 1:53 gave the Heat a 106-89 lead. With that, James and Bosh took well-deserved seats on the bench. Reserve guard Terrel Harris entered the game and finished off the 76ers with a three-pointer.
The Heat outscored the 76ers 32-23 in the final period. For the game, the Heat shot 54.3 percent and led in fast-break points (12-5) and second-chance points (14-9).
Offensively, Spoelstra said the “ball was popping.”The 76ers began the game shorthanded in the middle when center Spencer Hawes was cut from the active list with a strained Achilles’ tendon. Then rookie center Nikola Vucevic went down with a sprained knee, and Philadelphia was really hurting. The Heat outrebounded the Sixers 52-31. Udonis Haslem led the Heat with 10 rebounds off the bench, including four in the fourth quarter.
“They were sharp tonight from the start,” Sixers coach Doug Collins said. “We fought and hung around for a little bit, but they wore us down. We need our full arsenal and then some.”
The Heat was 7 of 16 from three-point range, with Mike Miller going 2 of 4 from behind the arc. Bosh, Mario Chalmers, Norris Cole and Harris also added three-pointers. Of Miller, Spoelstra said, “Every time he lets it go, you think it has got a chance.”
The Heat led by just three points in the third quarter when James Jones ducked inside the three-point line for a 19-footer. Facing harassing team defense, both Holiday and Vucevic missed shots on the next possession and James came down with the rebound. He hustled down the court and found Chalmers wide open in the corner for a three-pointer, and he drained it to put the Heat ahead 63-55.
It would take two more offensive waves from the Heat to put the Sixers away for good. The first came at the end of the third quarter, when Shane Battier’s three-pointer capped off a 12-4 run. The second, which came midway through the fourth quarter, was all James. He went 5 of 7 from the field in the period, scoring on drives to the basket and fadeaway jumpers.
“I’ve seen every defense,” James said. “I’ve seen them all, nothing surprises me. It’s always good when you can have an opportunity in the low post to go one-on-one because you have those shooters out there.
“I’m happy that we have them to be able to stretch the defense, and I use my strength and quickness in the post.”