Heat surge past 76ers

The Miami Heat (36-43) used a fourth-quarter surge to take down the Philadelphia 76ers (14-65) 117-105 on Monday, April 7, in a must-win game with Eastern Conference play-in implications.

Duncan Robinson led the way with 21 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, while Tyler Herro added 20 to help Miami pull away late. Kel’el Ware contributed a strong double-double with 19 points and 17 rebounds, and Davion Mitchell chipped in 12 points and nine assists off the bench.

The win keeps Miami just a half-game behind the Chicago Bulls (36-42) for ninth in the East. The two teams will meet in a crucial play-in positioning matchup on Wednesday. The Heat also sits 1.5 games behind No. 8 Atlanta and 2.5 games behind seventh-place Orlando.

Meanwhile, Philadelphia dropped its 12th straight despite 29-point efforts from Quentin Grimes and Lonnie Walker IV. Adem Bona posted a double-double of his own with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

The 76ers trailed by three points early in the fourth quarter, but a 16-3 Miami run blew the game open, giving the Heat a 104-91 lead with 4:22 remaining.

Heat: Miami played without Bam Adebayo (back spasms), Kevin Love (personal), and Andrew Wiggins (right hamstring). Wiggins has missed 15 of the team’s 30 games since joining the roster, but head coach Erik Spoelstra said, “He’s getting close.”

76ers: Philadelphia’s season continues to unravel amid a long list of injuries. Head coach Nick Nurse, starting four players who weren’t on the opening-night roster, called the season “no doubt, a huge disappointment. It started bad, stayed bad, and it's going to end bad.”

Miami will travel to face Chicago on Wednesday, April 9, with major play-in stakes. Philadelphia plays its final road game of the season at Washington that same night.