By Kyle Soppe
Per request of Drew Shaner, and the rest of my Pennsylvania based following, here is a closer look at the Heat’s 99-79 victory in Philly.
LeBron James recorded at least 15 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds for the 25th consecutive game. He seems to be a good bet to break Oscar Robertson’s all time streak of 29 games. His playmaking ability has been on display of late, as he has registered as many assists as field goals made twice in his last three contests.
Miami pulled away late, as they scored 32 forth quarter points, matching how many the 76ers scored in the second half.
The Heat managed to score 25+ points in three quarters, but failed to reach 100 points.
The Heat nearly shot a better percentage from the field (52%) than from the line (55%). Their accuracy from the field, which was aided by shooting 75% in the forth, was the best in the NBA last night, while the free throw percentage was the worst. In comparison, the 6ers shot 39.5% from the field, as they made 8 less shots despite attempting 4 more.
Eight Heat players shot at least 45% from the field.
Both teams saw many players have next to no impact as far as scoring the ball. The Heat got a total of 6 shots from 3 players who combined for 63 minutes. Philly had 4 players combine for nearly 50 minutes, and attempt a total of 5 shots.
Their struggles at the line didn’t include Wade and Bosh. The duo made 8 of 10 freebies, while the rest of the Heat managed to connect on only 3 of 10. Nobody outside of the “Big Three” made a free throw.
Joel Anthony, who averages 2.6 points per game for his career, single handily outscored 40% of the 76ers starting lineup. This wasn’t a typical game, as the Heat’s center was the lone starter to not record an offensive rebound. Despite Anthony outproducing the 6ers front court, they Heat were outscored by 6 points when he was in the game.
Elton Brand was held scoreless for the fifth time in his 823 game career. To help gain perspective, here is a list of things that happen a similar percentage (0.6%) of the time.
Kobe Bryant plays, but does not start, in a game since 1998 (0.52%)
Michael Jordan scores 60+ points in a game (0.48%)
Kevin Love fouls out of a game (0.67%)
Dwight Howard’s career three point shooting percentage (3.8%). The odds of him making a three pointer are 6x higher than Brand not scoring.
Requests for tonight’s action? We’ve got the Raptors/Heat for Sunday courtesy of Cam White.
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