NBA: 76ers tighten race for sixth by beating Heat

Tyrese Maxey had 37 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds to lift the Philadelphia 76ers past the host Miami Heat 109-105 on Thursday.

Maxey hit two free throws with 0.5 seconds remaining to seal the victory.

Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid added 29 points in his second game back from knee surgery. Kelly Oubre Jr. contributed 18 points for the Sixers (42-35), who ended the night on a 15-3 run to win their third game in a row.

Philadelphia is now one game behind the sixth-place Indiana Pacers (43-34) and a half-game behind the seventh-place Heat (42-34) in the chase for the sixth and final automatic Eastern Conference playoff position.

Terry Rozier led the Heat with 22 points, Jimmy Butler added 20 and Bam Adebayo had 14 points and 11 rebounds. Haywood Highsmith scored 12, Kevin Love had 11 points and 16 rebounds, and Nikola Jovic chipped in with 11 points.

The Heat opened the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run, capped by Love’s 3-pointer, to go ahead 95-87.

Maxey and Cameron Payne each hit treys and the deficit was 95-93 with 9:13 remaining.

Two Butler free throws with 6:28 to go gave Miami a 102-94 lead before Philadelphia scored the next 13 points. A layup from Oubre followed by an Oubre 3-pointer gave the 76ers a 103-102 lead with 3:30 left. Maxey then hit a jumper with 2:33 to go, increasing the margin to three points.

A 3-pointer from Rozier cut Miami’s deficit to two with 45.5 seconds left, but Butler missed a 3-point shot with 8.5 seconds remaining before Maxey closed it out at the foul line.

The Sixers jumped out to a 17-2 advantage and also led by as many as 16 in the first half. Philadelphia capitalized on a late 20-1 run to take a 63-55 lead into the locker room at halftime. Maxey scored 24 and Embiid added 21 before the break.

Highsmith scored 12 and Rozier hit a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to give him 11.

The Heat surged in front in the third quarter and took an 88-87 edge into the fourth. — Field Level Media/Reuters