Sixers try to stave off elimination in South Beach

Sixers G Lou Williams

By John McMullen

The heavily-favored Miami Heat will take another stab at eliminating Philadelphia when the teams square off in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals at American Airlines Arena.

The Sixers were all but dead in Game 4 on Easter Sunday until Lou Williams' go-ahead three-pointer with 8.1 seconds remaining helped the 76ers extend the series with a dramatic 86-82 victory.

"You don't have to play a perfect game. You just have to compete for 48 minutes," Sixers coach Doug Collins said.

Williams scored 11 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, and rookie Evan Turner capped a 17-point performance by finishing a game-ending 10-0 run with two clinching free throws in the closing seconds as Philadelphia beat Miami for the first time in seven tries this season.

LeBron James put up his usual gaudy numbers -- 31 points, seven rebounds and six assists -- but came up empty in the clutch as Elton Brand got a piece of his game-tying drive in the lane, spoiling Miami's chance at a series sweep.

"It's never easy in the playoffs," Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said. "[We were] in position to close out a game, up six [with] 1:35 to go. We [usually] can rely on our defense and we weren't able to do it the way we normally do."

No team in NBA history has ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit but eight have rallied from 3-1 so the Sixers' odds of pulling off a miracle have slightly improved.

The Sixers gave the Wells Fargo Center crowd something to cheer about after going down, 82-76, following Dwyane Wade's tip-in. Turner got a baseline floater to fall, then saved a defensive rebound under the basket on Mario Chalmers' errant three. Jrue Holiday came down and nailed a three to cut the deficit to 82-81, and Wade was off on a mid-range jumper at the other end.

Philadelphia opted not to call a timeout, and a possession with little continuity ended with Williams pulling up at the top of the arc and draining a 27-footer with a hand in his face with 8.1 ticks on the clock.

"[Wade] gave me a little room and I was able to knock it down," recalled Williams. "We have always been a team that fought. I just wanted to give us an opportunity to win the basketball game."

Miami drew up a final play for James, who took his Andre Iguodala off the dribble down the right lane and appeared to be going in for an easy two before Brand came from under the basket and altered the shot.

"I thought I put enough loft on the ball to get it over [Brand's] outstretched hand, but he made a great play," James said.

Thaddeus Young grabbed the loose ball, and Turner made both free throws to clinch the win and keep Philly's season alive.

Brand ended with 15 points and 11 boards, while Iguodala (16 points) and Holiday (10) rounded out Philadelphia's double-digit scorers.

Wade totaled 22 points, eight boards and five blocks while Chris Bosh was held to 12 points and five boards.

Should the Heat close things out tonight, they will meet the defending conference champion Boston Celtics in the East semifinals.

Miami swept Philadelphia in the three-game regular season series in 2010-11, winning by an average of 10 points a contest. The teams have never met in the postseason before.

Game 6 of the series, if necessary, will shift back to Philadelphia on Friday.