Philadelphia, PA -- Michael Beasley scored a
season-high 34 points with 11 rebounds and eight assists as the
Miami Heat ended their season with a 105-101 win over the Philadelphia
76ers on Wednesday.
Zoran Dragic netted a career-high 22
points, Henry Walker scored 21 and James Ennis finished with 17 points,
12 boards and six assists for the Heat (37-45), who won despite resting
the majority of their starters including Goran Dragic and Dwyane Wade.
"It's been a tough three weeks," Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra
said. "At least we can leave the last game with integrity and
competitive character."
JaKarr Sampson totaled a career-high
22 points, while Robert Covington and Hollis Thompson each had 19
points for the 76ers (18-64), who matched their worst mark since the
1995-96 season.
The 76ers cut into their 18-point halftime
deficit with 10 straight points to start the third quarter. They
outscored the Heat 25-11 during the frame and netted the final five
points of the quarter to get within 75-71 heading into the final stanza.
Thomas Robinson scored four straight points and Jerami Grant
gave the Sixers a lead with a dunk with under seven minutes to play.
Dragic, however, scored six straight points and the Heat made it a 94-88
game with 4:17 to play.
Grant hit a jumper and following a
pair of Covington free throws, Sampson's putback slam of Grant's miss
tied the game with 3:05 left.
After Beasley scored six
straight points, the Sixers responded with a 7-0 spurt that was
capped on Sampson's dunk for a 101-100 lead with 23.7 ticks on the
clock.
Walker, however, sealed the win by knocking down a 3
and Tyler Johnson's driving dunk following Covington's miss from
beyond the arc accounted for the final score.
"They made a run in the fourth quarter," Robinson said. "We didn't have enough time to come back."
The Heat, who will miss the playoffs for the first time since the 2008
season, scored nine of the final 13 points to lead 29-23 after the
opening 12 minutes of play.
Thompson hit back-to-back 3s to
tie the game two minutes into the second quarter, but Miami quickly
regained its advantage with a 16-6 spurt that contained
contributions from beyond the arc from Walker, Dragic and Ennis.
Miami continued to pour it on and led 64-46 at halftime.
Notes: Philadelphia lost its final 10 games of the season ... The Sixers
outscored the Heat in the paint by a 58-46 margin ... Miami led by as
many as 20 points.
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