It continues to be a case of not who but rather how for the Miami Heat.
With Andrew Wiggins, Nikola Jovic and Tyler Herro back in South Florida, the Heat went into Philadelphia on Sunday and extended their winning streak to a season-best four in a row, with a 127-117 victory over the 76ers at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Once again, Erik Spoelstra’s mantra of his team having enough proved more than prescient, this time with guard Norman Powell leading the way with 32 points, supported by several stat-filling efforts.
In addition, from the Heat’s big men there were 20 points and 16 rebounds from Kel’el Ware and 18 points and 13 rebounds from Bam Adebayo.
“Bam and Kel’el were monsters on the glass,” Spoelstra said, “each one of them in their own way.
On the wing, Davion Mitchell closed with 12 assists, nine rebounds and eight points, with Pelle Larsson with eight assists, six points and six rebounds.
And from the bench, 22 points from Jaime Jaquez Jr.
About the only disappointment was failing to get Mitchell the triple-double.
“We all wanted to see D-Mitch get that triple-double,” Spoelstra said. “He was so close.”
It was a robust Sunday brunch of an effort from a team that as soon as possibly Monday could have Herro in the mix for the first time this season.
About the only place where there wasn’t feasting was the foul line, where the Heat closed 20 of 30.
Still, another robust offensive effort for the league’s leading offense.
“Everybody feels involved,” Adebayo said. “Everybody is getting the ball. Everybody knows it’s controlled havoc in a sense.”
As for the 76ers, another case of being overmatched in another game missed by center Joel Embiid, with guard Tyrese Maxey pacing Philadelphia with 27 points.
Next up for the 11-6 Heat is a Monday night home game against the Dallas Mavericks, at the start of a four-game homestand.
“These are little, mini times during the season that you don’t want to over-celebrate, but we do want to acknowledge it,” Spoelstra said of the winning streak. “I don’t think anybody two months ago thought we’d be sitting third in the East. It’s not everything, but it’s something. I want our guys to enjoy it.”
Five Degrees of Heat from Sunday’s game:
1. Game flow: The Heat led 37-27 at the end of the opening period, a quarter that featured 10 points from Powell, eight rebounds from Ware and six assists from Mitchell.
The Heat then went up 16 in the second period, only to see it all erased by a 16-0 Philadelphia run, with the Heat up 71-67 at the intermission.
The Heat pushed back to a 14-point lead in the third quarter, with the 76ers this time responding with a 10-0 run, to stand within 99-93 entering the fourth quarter.
The 76ers got it within two early in the fourth quarter, before the Heat then pushed back to a 13-point lead, holding on from there.
“When they did make a run and get it to five or six, we would come back, settle in after a timeout and come right back, and push it to 10. You want to see that kind of progress,” Spoelstra said.
2. No doubt: Having briefly left Friday night’s blowout victory over the Bulls with a groin issue and then surfacing on the injury report with what was listed as an irritated left hip, Powell not only was in the starting lineup, but active from the jump.
Setting the tone with eight of the Heat’s first 12 points, Powell had 10 points in the first period, including the Heat’s only two 3-pointers of the first quarter.
Powell then was up to 23 points by halftime, twice drawing three-shot fouls in the second period, and then another in the third. He closed 11 of 18 from the field, 4 of 7 on the 3-pointers he wasn’t fouled on.
Powell’s 19th point was the 8,500th of his career.
“What an explosive offensive talent he is,” Spoelstra said. “And the fact that he made himself available tonight, we’re really appreciative of that.”
3. Ware-with-all: Starting for the second consecutive game amid the injury absences of Wiggins and Jovic, Ware had eight rebounds and eight points in the first quarter.
Ware cashed in on yet another injury absence by Embiid, with Philadelphia again instead having to start veteran Andrew Drummond in the middle.
Ware had a double-double by halftime, at that point with 11 points and 10 rebounds, now with six double-doubles in the past seven games.
“Just playing with so much more force than he was a year ago at this time,” Spoelstra said. “He’s gaining confidence.
Ware’s rebounding was needed, with Drummond closing with 23 for the 76ers.
“Each game I’m realizing more and more that I can really have an impact on the glass to help my team out because that’s what we need,” Ware said.
4. Scrappy support: It wasn’t only about the Heat’s leading men, with the Heat’s supporting cast drawing three charges in the first half, including two drawn by Pelle Larsson and one by Dru Smith.
As is his wont, Larsson drew one of the offensive fouls with his face.
At the start of the trip, Spoelstra ahead of Friday’s game in Chicago said of Larsson, “Someone should chart how many times he’s been hit in his face with an elbow or something. I mean they chart everything, right? They’ve got to chart that somewhere. He’s definitely leading the team on that.”
5. Maxey factor: Maxey entered second in the NBA in scoring, at 33.4 points per game, coming off a 47-point outing Friday against the Milwaukee Bucks. He closed 10 of 23 from the field, 5 of 14 on 3-pointers.
“You’re just seeing somebody that his confidence continues to grow,” Spoelstra said. “You know, he’s had moments like this the last couple of years. But now, because of some of the injuries, his usage has gone way up. I think he’s leading the league in touches right now.
“But you have somebody with that kind of speed, that kind of shooting ability, and he just has an exuberance with the way that he plays, that has everybody on high alert.”
Mitchell handled most of the coverage on Maxey.
“I just tried my best to put my body on him and sending him to my teammates, and I think I did a good job of that,” he said.