MIAMI — The combined years of NBA action among the Heat’s starting lineup is 62 seasons. On Sunday for the Sixers, it was 23. Throw in the championships, playoff runs and All-Star selections, and the experience levels of the two teams are drastically different.
When the game came down to the final minutes, it was the Heat who overcame 12 lead changes and 12 ties, including one with 4:39 to go, to win, 103-98, at home (see Instant Replay).
“You know how to close out games, you know how to win games, you know what you need to do,” Dwyane Wade said. “That’s a young team over there. They’ve got some good individual players. They haven’t played enough together to be a team yet. You just can’t make it up. You’ve got to go through the process. Those guys have to go through it so they can see what they need to do when they get in those situations the next time it happens. We’ve been in those situations many a time throughout this year.”
The Sixers came out with a stronger effort than Friday’s 20-4 first-quarter deficit against the Heat. They were shorthanded, once again, without Jahlil Okafor (shin), Nerlens Noel (knee), Nik Stauskas and Kendall Marshall (upper respiratory infections) (see story).
This time they trailed by only eight points, compared to 16 two days earlier, but the Heat finished late with their veteran know-how.
“Good teams, they close out quarters,” Carl Landry said. “I’ve played on some good teams and the only difference between good teams and bad teams is closing out quarters. ... That’s where teams win.”
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The Heat outscored the Sixers, 34-29, in the fourth. They broke out of an 87-87 tie with a 10-2 run to build an eight-point lead with a minute to go (see highlights).
“It’s kind of been the story of the year, just closing out those close games, executing down the stretch, getting stops and whatnot," Ish Smith said. “That’s a good team. Wade, Hall of Famer. Luol [Deng] has been an All-Star. Goran [Dragic] has been huge for them and [Hassan] Whiteside is special. That’s a good team and we [were] right there in the end, just a couple of plays here, couple of plays there didn’t go our way and that was the difference-maker.”
The Heat and Sixers are at opposite positions this season. The Sixers have lost 12 straight and at 8-55 have the worst record in the NBA. The Heat (37-26) are looking to advance in the Eastern Conference for a higher playoff seed. They currently hold the fourth spot.
“I saw really good players trying to move further up the standings,” Sixers coach Brett Brown said. “We’ve seen this before, and you give them credit.”
The Heat's veteran experience gave them an advantage with intangibles that are gained over time. They saw a fight out of the young Sixers, but were ultimately able to overcome it with an abundance of NBA games their opponents are still years away from reaching.
"I thought tonight, for the most part of the game, they really outplayed us," Deng said. "A couple of things could have went their way. I think as an older team, we know how to finish games better. I think we’ve been in more situations this year like that than they have. But they’re right there. I like how hard they play. I know it’s tough to lose every night, but for those guys, hopefully every game there’s something to learn out of it."