Jimmy Butler made a strong return from injury, and Tyler Herro scored 16 of his 18 points in the important third quarter as the Miami Heat came back to beat the struggling Philadelphia 76ers 106-89 on Monday night.
Butler, who had missed four games due to a sprained right ankle, scored a season-high 30 points, along with 10 rebounds and five assists. The Heat were down by 19 points in the second quarter but rallied to win, marking just their fifth home game of the season (2-3).
Philadelphia, which entered the game tied with Washington and Toronto for the fewest wins in the NBA (2-11), played without point guard Tyrese Maxey for the sixth straight game due to a strained right hamstring.
Rookie Jared McCain led the 76ers with 20 points, and veteran Paul George added 18 points. Center Joel Embiid played despite being listed as questionable due to an illness. He finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, and five assists in 31 minutes.
Miami was missing Terry Rozier (right foot discomfort) and Jaime Jaquez Jr. (sprained right ankle).
The first quarter saw seven ties and six lead changes, with Philadelphia leading 33-25 at the end. George scored 12 points in the quarter as the 76ers shot 54.2 percent from the field. Butler scored 11 points for Miami, but they shot just 43.5 percent, including 1-for-11 on three-pointers.
Philadelphia extended its lead to 46-27 by making its first six shots of the second quarter. However, Miami responded by scoring 24 of the next 29 points to pull within two. Butler scored eight points in the second quarter, while George was kept scoreless. The Heat went into halftime trailing 56-53.
Miami took their first lead since the opening quarter when Duncan Robinson hit a three-pointer to make it 65-62 with 7:15 left in the third. Herro made five of six shots and two three-pointers as the Heat finished the quarter on a 15-3 run, leading 88-72 heading into the fourth.
The 76ers, who are last in the league in scoring, couldn’t get back into the game, managing just 17 points in the final period. This loss marked their fourth straight defeat.
