The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Miami Heat, 106-102, at Wells Fargo Center on Thursday evening.
The 76ers (38-21) came into the contest sans their most dominant player, as Joel Embiid had already been ruled out Wednesday due to lingering knee soreness. That thrust the recently acquired Boban Marjanovic into the starting lineup, a development that led to excellent results. The seven-footer contributed a 19-point, 12-rebound double-double over a modest 27 minutes, adding two assists and one block. However, the Heat (26-31) put quite the scare into their hosts, outscoring them by a 25-16 margin in the third quarter to take a two-point lead into the final period. Miami ultimately held a slim one-point edge with just under two minutes to go, but Philadelphia finished on an 8-4 run to seal the hard-fought victory.
Dwyane Wade paced the Heat with 19 points, adding six assists, four rebounds, one steal and one block. Dion Waiters produced 18 points, five boards, one assist and three steals. Kelly Olynyk furnished 15 points, six rebounds and three assists. Josh Richardson totaled 13 points, five assists, two rebounds and one block. Justise Winslow stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Tobias Harris led the 76ers with a 23-point, 11-rebound double-double that also included one assist and one block. Ben Simmons turned in 21 points, seven rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block. Jimmy Butler supplied 18 points, six rebounds, six assists and one steal. J.J. Redick poured in 13 points and added six rebounds, three assists and one block.
The Heat returns home to face the Detroit Pistons on Saturday evening, while the 76ers remain home to tangle with the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday afternoon.
