Miami will try to extend its two-game winning streak when it travels to Philadelphia on Thursday night for a primetime matchup. The Heat had lost three straight games, but they have bounced back with wins over Dallas and Detroit with three games remaining in the regular season. Philadelphia has won three of its last four games, beating Boston in a 103-101 final on Tuesday.
Miami lost three straight games at the end of March to fall out of the top six in the Eastern Conference standings, but it has won back-to-back games over Dallas and Detroit to pull within one game of Brooklyn for the No. 6 seed in the standings. The Heat are two games ahead of Atlanta and Toronto as of Wednesday afternoon with three games remaining in the regular season. They were 2.5-point underdogs in their 129-122 win over Dallas last Saturday, as Jimmy Butler poured in 35 points and dished out 12 assists. He added 27 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in a 118-105 win at Detroit on Tuesday.
Best rookie performance this season?@MiamiHEAT // @SociosUSA
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) April 5, 2023
Butler had 18 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter on Tuesday to help his team avoid an embarrassing loss to the worst team in the NBA. The Heat led by one point at the beginning of the fourth quarter but were not able to pull away until the final four minutes. Shooting guard Tyler Herro made both of his free throws, extending his streak to 32, which is one short of his career best set in 2020. Miami cannot afford to leave points at the charity stripe, as it ranks last in the NBA in points per game (109.1). The Heat are facing a Philadelphia defense that is No. 3 in points allowed per game (110.5).
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