MIAMI (AP) ― LeBron James arrived at work a little earlier than usual on Tuesday, warming up more than three hours before tip-off with hopes of finding his rhythm.
With Dwyane Wade out, Miami needed some extra offense ― and James delivered.
James scored 14 straight Miami points in the fourth quarter and finished with a season-high 41, helping the Heat clinch a playoff spot with a 99-93 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
It was the 16th straight home win for Miami, which has won its last 11 regular-season games against the 76ers. The Heat also moved within 2½ games of Chicago in the race for the Eastern Conference’s best record.
“It was a grind,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “No question, it was a grind.”
Mario Chalmers had 19 points, Chris Bosh scored 17 and Udonis Haslem grabbed 11 rebounds for Miami, which improved to 9-1 without Wade this season. Wade sat with a bruised left knee, leaving his status for Wednesday’s showdown with Oklahoma City in some doubt.
Evan Turner scored 26 points for Philadelphia, which fell 1 1/2 games behind Boston in the Atlantic Division. Lou Williams scored 18, Spencer Hawes added 12 and Andre Iguodala had 11 before leaving in the third quarter with a left eye contusion.
It was just the fourth time in 24 games this season that the 76ers shot at least 45 percent and lost.
“We got right there. ... We just couldn’t get over that hump,” Williams said.
James scored 21 points after Iguodala ― who was the primary defender on him ― departed with 4:42 left in the third quarter. Iguodala was holding the ball as Chalmers tried swiping it away, but only wound up connecting with the face of the 76ers’ guard. Iguodala went to the floor in pain, holding the area around his left eye, then eventually made his way to the Philadelphia bench and locker room with part of his face covered by a towel.
“I thought my eye was gone,” Iguodala said. “It was hurting really bad. I had a really bad headache for about 10 minutes.”
San Antonio 125, Cleveland 90
Indiana 112, New York 104
Toronto 92, Charlotte 87
Detroit 102, Orlando 95
Memphis 98, Golden State 94
Phoenix 109, Sacramento 100
LA Lakers 91, New Jersey 87
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
