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Dwyane Wade leads the way as Heat go up 3-0 against Philly

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By David Dwork Updated
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By the end of the game, Philadelphia was trying everything to stop Dwyane Wade.
By the end of the game, Philadelphia was trying everything to stop Dwyane Wade.

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.

  • 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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