{"id":403374,"date":"2011-04-28T03:03:24","date_gmt":"2011-04-28T03:03:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/04\/28\/heat-finish-off-76ers-reach-east-semis-ap\/"},"modified":"2011-04-28T03:03:24","modified_gmt":"2011-04-28T03:03:24","slug":"heat-finish-off-76ers-reach-east-semis-ap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/28\/heat-finish-off-76ers-reach-east-semis-ap\/","title":{"rendered":"Heat finish off 76ers, reach East semis (AP)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

MIAMI (AP)\u2014The day began with LeBron James<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> making a playoff analogy out of breakfast, his way of saying the Miami Heat<\/a> were focused on the first postseason challenge presented by the Philadelphia 76ers<\/a> and nothing else.<\/p>\n

Clear the table.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow,\u201d James said about 12 hours later, \u201cwe\u2019re preparing for lunch.\u201d<\/p>\n

So this much is obvious: There will be some hunger Sunday afternoon when Boston visits to open a series both teams wanted.<\/p>\n

Dwyane Wade<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> scored 26 points, Chris Bosh<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> added 22 points and 11 rebounds, and the Heat advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals by topping Philadelphia 97-91 on Wednesday night and ousting the 76ers in five games, four of them of the grueling variety, perhaps none more nailbiting than the finale.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to be ready,\u201d Wade said. \u201cPhilly got us ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mario Chalmers<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> scored 20 points off the bench and James finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for Miami. Joel Anthony<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span>\u2014who played 39 minutes without a single field-goal attempt\u2014made a pair of critical free throws with 16.8 seconds left for the Heat.<\/p>\n

Winners of a playoff series for the first time since the 2006 NBA finals, the Heat have little time to savor the winning flavor. Boston took three of four in the regular season, plus ended both Miami\u2019s season and James\u2019 stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a> in the 2010 playoffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe understand where we are in this league and where the Celtics are,\u201d Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. \u201cThey\u2019ve proven themselves. They were the Eastern Conference champions last year. If we want to get to anywhere where we want to go, and the goals that we set for ourselves early in training camp, we have to go through them. And it wouldn\u2019t be right if we didn\u2019t play them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boston punched its ticket to the second round on Sunday, and the Heat insisted they were not looking ahead to the Celtics.<\/p>\n

Good thing, because Philadelphia was far from a pushover.<\/p>\n

Andre Iguodala<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> and Elton Brand<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> each scored 22 points for Philadelphia, which got 13 from Thaddeus Young<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> 12 from Jodie Meeks<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> and 10 from Jrue Holiday<\/a>(notes)<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe were proud to have these guys on our team,\u201d said Brand, one of only two Philadelphia starters with postseason experience before this series. \u201cThey listen, they work hard and they\u2019re going to get better. Being vets \u2026 it can be tough kind of playing with young guys. But not these guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wade made a 3-pointer with 8:34 left, pumped his fist on his way up the sideline, and Miami was up 81-71.<\/p>\n

The celebration was way, way, too early.<\/p>\n

Philadelphia chipped away steadily, getting within two points on three occasions and\u2014after Steve Javie called a technical against Wade for arguing with 51 seconds left\u2014cut Miami\u2019s lead to one point twice, first on the technical free throw at 90-89 and again at 92-91 after Iguodala made a jumper with 36 ticks remaining.<\/p>\n

Those were the final points of Philadelphia\u2019s season. The Sixers started 3-13, then got into the playoffs and wound up pushing Miami to the edge.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe fought to the finish,\u201d Philadelphia coach Doug Collins said, \u201cas we said we were going to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

James created a bit of a stir before the game\u2014by, of all things, quoting rapper Jay-Z.<\/p>\n

Asked after Miami\u2019s morning shootaround practice about the need to finish Philadelphia off on Wednesday to allow time to finally start preparing for Boston, James said the Heat were focusing on, \u201cjust finishing our breakfast,\u201d the lyric Jay-Z used.<\/p>\n

Collins shrugged it off as \u201can analogy.\u201d But some Sixers seemed to take offense at the comment\u2014Lou Williams was giving teammates various breakfast-item nicknames before the game, saying some were fruit salad, others flapjacks.<\/p>\n

Maybe it was no coincidence that James was nearly held to another breakfast food\u2014a bagel, otherwise known as 0 points\u2014in the first half. He had only three points at intermission, matching his playoff career low, and the stage was set for another down-to-the-wire night.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a long buffet,\u201d Brand said. \u201cWe kept coming. We didn\u2019t give up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wade capped it with a dunk with a half-second left, as white seat covers got tossed around the arena triumphantly by the sellout crowd. Collins and Spoelstra shared a warm handshake moments later, most of the two rosters exchanged quick hugs, and then Miami retreated back to its locker room for a moment or two of celebration.<\/p>\n

\u201cFour out of five games, it came down to the last minute, down to the wire,\u201d Sixers center Spencer Hawes<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> said. \u201cIt sounds cliche, but a couple bounces here and there you don\u2019t know which way it can go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Collins said \u201cit\u2019ll be interesting\u201d to see what Spoelstra does in the next round when it comes to Miami\u2019s lineup. Mike Bibby<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> and Zydrunas Ilgauskas<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> only played 4:27 apiece, benched the rest of the way after another slow start, and Chalmers and Anthony started the second half.<\/p>\n

Collins also acknowledged being emotional in Philadelphia\u2019s postgame locker room.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve enjoyed the ride all year,\u201d said Collins, who insisted he plans to return if the Sixers want him.<\/p>\n

Much of Miami\u2019s emphasis on Tuesday and before the game Wednesday was on starting more quickly. Still, for the fourth time in five games, Philadelphia had Miami in a double-digit hole in the opening quarter.<\/p>\n

The Sixers made nine of their first 11 shots, running out to leads of 16-5 and 20-10\u2014before, as was the case throughout the series, the first substitutions for Miami started paying dividends.<\/p>\n

And in the end, Chalmers and Anthony played big roles.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey kind of forgot about me,\u201d Chalmers said. \u201cI made them pay.\u201d<\/p>\n

NOTES: Philadelphia\u2019s combined scoring margin over Miami\u2019s starters to open games grew to 92-50 for the series, after a 14-4 start on Wednesday. \u2026 A pregame moment of silence was held to remember Jim Mandich, the Miami Dolphins<\/a> player and broadcaster who died Tuesday night of complications from bile duct cancer. Mandich was close with several Heat officials, including Pat Riley. \u2026 James accepted April\u2019s Player of the Month award in a brief halftime ceremony.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Continued here:
\nHeat finish off 76ers, reach East semis (AP)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MIAMI (AP)\u2014The day began with LeBron James (notes) making a playoff analogy out of breakfast, his way of saying the Miami Heat were focused on the first postseason challenge presented by the Philadelphia 76ers and nothing else. Clear the table. \u201cNow,\u201d James said about 12 hours later, \u201cwe\u2019re preparing for lunch.\u201d So this much is obvious: There will be some hunger Sunday afternoon when Boston visits to open a series both teams wanted. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-403374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nHeat finish off 76ers, reach East semis (AP) - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/28\/heat-finish-off-76ers-reach-east-semis-ap\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Heat finish off 76ers, reach East semis (AP) - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"MIAMI (AP)\u2014The day began with LeBron James (notes) making a playoff analogy out of breakfast, his way of saying the Miami Heat were focused on the first postseason challenge presented by the Philadelphia 76ers and nothing else. Clear the table. \u201cNow,\u201d James said about 12 hours later, \u201cwe\u2019re preparing for lunch.\u201d So this much is obvious: There will be some hunger Sunday afternoon when Boston visits to open a series both teams wanted.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/34c3bc95hiladelphia.jpg-150x150.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/28\/heat-finish-off-76ers-reach-east-semis-ap\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/28\/heat-finish-off-76ers-reach-east-semis-ap\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Heat finish off 76ers, reach East semis (AP)\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-04-28T03:03:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/28\/heat-finish-off-76ers-reach-east-semis-ap\/\"},\"wordCount\":1047,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/28\/heat-finish-off-76ers-reach-east-semis-ap\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/34c3bc95hiladelphia.jpg-150x150.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/28\/heat-finish-off-76ers-reach-east-semis-ap\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/28\/heat-finish-off-76ers-reach-east-semis-ap\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/28\/heat-finish-off-76ers-reach-east-semis-ap\/\",\"name\":\"Heat finish off 76ers, reach East semis (AP) - Ghanamma.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/28\/heat-finish-off-76ers-reach-east-semis-ap\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/28\/heat-finish-off-76ers-reach-east-semis-ap\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/34c3bc95hiladelphia.jpg-150x150.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-04-28T03:03:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/28\/heat-finish-off-76ers-reach-east-semis-ap\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/28\/heat-finish-off-76ers-reach-east-semis-ap\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/34c3bc95hiladelphia.jpg-150x150.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/34c3bc95hiladelphia.jpg-150x150.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/\",\"name\":\"Ghanamma.com\",\"description\":\"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Heat finish off 76ers, reach East semis (AP) - Ghanamma.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/28\/heat-finish-off-76ers-reach-east-semis-ap\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Heat finish off 76ers, reach East semis (AP) - Ghanamma.com","twitter_description":"MIAMI (AP)\u2014The day began with LeBron James (notes) making a playoff analogy out of breakfast, his way of saying the Miami Heat were focused on the first postseason challenge presented by the Philadelphia 76ers and nothing else. Clear the table. \u201cNow,\u201d James said about 12 hours later, \u201cwe\u2019re preparing for lunch.\u201d So this much is obvious: There will be some hunger Sunday afternoon when Boston visits to open a series both teams wanted.","twitter_image":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/34c3bc95hiladelphia.jpg-150x150.jpg","twitter_creator":"@ghanamma","twitter_site":"@ghanamma","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/28\/heat-finish-off-76ers-reach-east-semis-ap\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/28\/heat-finish-off-76ers-reach-east-semis-ap\/"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"Heat finish off 76ers, reach East semis (AP)","datePublished":"2011-04-28T03:03:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/28\/heat-finish-off-76ers-reach-east-semis-ap\/"},"wordCount":1047,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/28\/heat-finish-off-76ers-reach-east-semis-ap\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/34c3bc95hiladelphia.jpg-150x150.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/28\/heat-finish-off-76ers-reach-east-semis-ap\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/28\/heat-finish-off-76ers-reach-east-semis-ap\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/28\/heat-finish-off-76ers-reach-east-semis-ap\/","name":"Heat finish off 76ers, reach East semis (AP) - Ghanamma.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/28\/heat-finish-off-76ers-reach-east-semis-ap\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/28\/heat-finish-off-76ers-reach-east-semis-ap\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/34c3bc95hiladelphia.jpg-150x150.jpg","datePublished":"2011-04-28T03:03:24+00:00","author":{"@id":""},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/28\/heat-finish-off-76ers-reach-east-semis-ap\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/28\/heat-finish-off-76ers-reach-east-semis-ap\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/34c3bc95hiladelphia.jpg-150x150.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/34c3bc95hiladelphia.jpg-150x150.jpg"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/","name":"Ghanamma.com","description":"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=403374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403374\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=403374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=403374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=403374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}