Heat 113, 76ers 103:
Dwyane Wade’s clutch baskets spark Miami in Game 2.
PHILADELPHIA — Dwyane Wade snuffed out one Philadelphia rally by popping a 16-foot fadeaway with the shot clock ticking down. Wade made a halfhearted attempt at reaching out his hand toward a fallen defender before he scooted on his way.
Wade was up, the Sixers were down and suddenly, it’s a series. The Heat had to have this one — and brooding Joel Embiid is angling for a comeback.
Wade turned in a vintage performance, scoring 28 points to end the 76ers’ winning streak at 17 games and lead the Heat to a 113-103 Game 2 win over Philadelphia on Monday night and even the first-round playoff series.
“It’s just in my DNA,” Wade said. “I love the stage.”
Wade made 11 of 17 shots, put on a show in the second quarter and put away the game in the fourth.
“I saw moments,” Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “That’s what defines Dwyane Wade.”
The Sixers sorely needed Embiid, their All-Star center out with a broken orbital bone, to settle them as they fell into a quick a 16-point hole. Even without Embiid, the Sixers trimmed the lead to two points late in the fourth.
Wade buried two big buckets down the stretch that pushed back the Sixers and tied the series as it shifts to Miami for Game 3 on Thursday.
The Sixers lost for the first time since March 13 to Indiana. They won 16 straight to end the regular season and the first game of the playoffs, and played their 10th straight game without Embiid.
“We played Game 1 like a regular-season game and tonight was a playoff game,” Wade said.