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The Miami Heat went up to Philadelphia and took care of business in Game 3, beating the Sixers 100-94 to take a commanding 3-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. Dwyane Wade had his best game of the series and Chris Bosh rebounded from a horrible 1st half to make some big plays down the stretch, and now Miami is a win away from earning a spot in the 2nd round and getting some time to rest and recuperate.
The Sixers jumped out to an early 9-0 lead while Miami missed their first 8 shots, struggling to get anything going against the youthful Philly squad. Late in the quarter the home team held a 10-point lead and they took a nice 8-point lead into the 2nd. Slowly but surely the Heat began to claw away at the Sixers lead, getting it all the way down to 2 before the half.
Miami scored the first 4 points of the 3rd quarter to take their first lead of the game, but it was short lived as Philly went on a 12-0 run to regain their nice 8-point lead. Once again the Heat had to get the deficit back to a smaller number, and they did just that, getting it all the way back down to 2 by the end of the quarter, setting things up for an exciting final 12 minutes.
A 9-2 run to start the 4th quarter was a great way to get the ball rolling for Miami. From that point they would never relinquish the lead, allowing the Sixers to get as close as 4 points, but that was just once and in the final minute of the game. It was a wonderful final quarter for a road team to play, especially in the playoffs in a hostile environment like Philadelphia.
GAME NOTES
- Miami set a franchise playoff record with 20 offensive rebounds.
- Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 8 of those offensive boards, adding 10 points in just 16 minutes.
- Dwyane Wade had more points in Game 3 (32) then in Games 1 and 2 combined (31). He added 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 blocks and a steal.
- LeBron James led the Heat with 15 rebounds.
- James Jones had a solid game, hitting a pair of big treys late in the 2nd quarter and providing his usual solid defense.
- The Heat out-rebounded Philly 50-34.
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The Big 3 scored 23 of the Heat's 27 4th quarter points.
- Erik Spoelstra only used 3 of his bench players (Jones, Anthony and Chalmers), relying heavily on superstars to carry the load. That isn't uncommon in the playoffs, and with the multiple days off in-between games, it works out well.
The Heat will now go for the 1st round sweep. Game 4 is Sunday at 1pm from the Wells Fargo Center.
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