After a lackluster performance on Tuesday night verses the Celtics in which the Heat were rusty and lacked cohesion, Wednesday night in Philadelphia saw a much better Heat team in action verses the 76ers. The Heat came together, both on offense and defense, and won 97-87. The game was not as close as the score shows - the Heat were leading 80-54 at the end of the third quarter, but got lazy on defense in the fourth and were outscored by 16 points.
There were several keys to this win - defense, the transition game, Dwyane Wade stepping up with a strong performance, and James Jones shooting 6 for 9 from three-point range. The Heat defense was very strong, forcing the 76ers to commit 16 turnovers, which then led to 20 fast break points.
When it came down to running a half-court offense, Miami was much better in this game than in the game verses the Celtics. On Wednesday, the Heat had much better spacing between players and very good ball movement. When Wade or LeBron James drove to the hoop, the 76ers defenders collapsed on them, and they were able to kick the ball out to open shooters. This led to Jones getting open shots and scoring 20 points, which was important for this victory over the 76ers.
“Give it up for JJ, really stepping up,” Wade said.
“JJ was unbelievable today,” James said.
Aside from Jones having a strong offensive performance, Wade had one as well. Following a poor performance Tuesday in what was Wade’s first game-speed action all year (he got only three minutes in preseason action), Wade came back strong in the second game of the season.
After the team watched the video of the Celtics game and discussed it, Wade then watched the game two additional times on his own. What he took from that, along with the fact of just getting more game time playing in and working the rust off, led to a much better performance. He finished with 30 points on 10 for 20 shooting, with seven rebounds, four assists, three steals, and only one turnover.
"I always pride myself on learning from what I did the night before," Wade said. "I got in a comfort zone (tonight), I missed some shots around the basket, but it's coming."
"He was less anxious, letting the game come to him," Spoelstra said.
James also had a good game, finishing with 16 points on 5 for 12 shooting, with six rebounds and seven assists, but also nine turnovers (after having eight in Boston the night before). Bosh finished with 15 points on 6-12 shooting, seven rebounds, one assist, and only one turnover. The big three were on the floor together just 25 minutes, but scored 61 points on 18 for 35 shooting. This was a large improvement from the first game verses the Celtics, in which the big three played 30 minutes together and scored 52 points on 16 for 44 shooting.
"We're not at our peak, we're not even close," Wade said. "Eventually when it's time to be there, we will."
Next up, the Heat face the Orlando Magic in Miami on Friday night. This will be a challenge, as Orlando is a good defensive team, much like Boston was.
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