The Miami Heat finish the preseason with a 4-4 record after losing to Philadelphia.
Playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Miami Heat wrapped up their preseason schedule with a home loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, 113-110. The Heat led the game most of the way, however couldn’t hold on down the stretch as the starters rested the entire fourth quarter. Goran Dragic had 17 points and Hassan Whiteside scored 15 with the Heat using 15 players for the night.
The rotation was thrown out of whack due to Wayne Ellington (thigh contusion) and Rodney McGruder (finger) suffering injuries, and hence playing just 10 and 14 minutes respectively. This meant 13 of the 15 players reached double figures for minutes played. Whilst the Heat shot at 50.7 percent from the field, the team missed 16 free-throws on their way to hitting at a 63.3 percent clip from the line. Also after attempting 41 three-pointers the night before in Charlotte, the Heat attempted 20 this game, hitting just five.
Dario Saric led the way for Philadelphia with 19 points and seven rebounds whilst Joel Embiid had 18 points and nine rebounds in just 18 minutes of court time.
Also of note was that despite playing 15 players, not one Heat player reached double figures for field goal attempts. The Heat though did manage to win the battle on the boards, 46-40.
The Heat kickoff their regular season on the road against the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night.