The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Miami Heat, 125-108, at Wells Fargo Arena on Thursday evening.

The 76ers (9-4) are inching closer to become the first team in the Eastern Conference with 10 wins, and they have left their three-game losing run behind after notching back-to-back wins over the Heat (4-6) this week. This time, Philadelphia used a strong start to take control of the game and, in fact, they won each of the initial three quarters to pull away rather quickly. The 76ers jumped out to a 38-30 lead following the first 12 minutes and boosted that advantage following a 35-28 second quarter, giving Philadelphia a 15-point advantage at the half. The Sixers also won the third quarter by a 25-20 score and, by the time the final quarter arrived, the lead was already 20 points. The Heat won the final 12 minutes by a 30-27 margin, but that wasn't enough to mount a comeback and the Sixers raced to a rather comfortable win. Philadelphia shot 53.7 percent from the field and 45.9 percent from three-point range, while the Heat "only" shot 49.4 percent from the field and 35.3 percent from beyond the arc.

Shake Milton carried the Sixers offensively and posted 31 points despite coming off the bench. Tobias Harris ended with 18 points, four rebounds and two assists, but the real star of the game was Ben Simmons -- he finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists, posting his first triple-double of the year. Joel Embiid had a disappointing performance and scored just nine points while adding five rebounds and three turnovers.

Seven of the eight Heat players scored in double digits here and Duncan Robinson was their leading scorer with 22 points while draining four of eight three-point shots. Gabe Vincent registered 21 points and eight assists, while Precious Achiuwa delivered 10 points and 11 boards. Tyler Herro contributed 17 points and six rebounds, while Chris Silva ended with 13 points off the bench.