Heat match season’s longest winning streak, pound 76ers behind Herro’s 30

PHILADELPHIA — The reality is that with one loss over their remaining eight games, the Miami Heat will have the team’s first losing record since 2018-19.

For now, though, for the first time in a long time, they are feeling like winners, with Saturday night’s 118-95 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center extending the winning streak to four, matching the longest of the season for Erik Spoelstra’s team,

Granted, this latest victory against the carcass of what remains of the 76ers hardly was a statement win. But for a team that a week ago was mired in a 10-game losing streak, you take it and move on for a Monday night game against the league-worst Washington Wizards.

“We didn’t let go of the rope,” center Bam Adebayo said, “and found a higher standard.”

So even with Andrew Wiggins sidelined, the Heat continued this late-season revival, fueled by 30 points from Tyler Herro, a season-high 20 from Alec Bucks and a 13-point, 14-rebound double-double from Kel’el Ware.

Factor in the Heat also getting double-digit scoring from Adebayo, Pelle Larsson and Haywood Highsmith and it was more than enough against a 76ers roster lacking sidelined Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey, among others.

As has been the case during the streak, it was another over-the-top win, with the Heat closing 20-of-43 on 3-pointers.

“Sometimes you go through difficult things and you gain a lot of confidence from that, trust it,” Spoelstra said. “Guys are moving the ball, sharing, making quick decisions. The ball tends to find good basketball sometimes. It’s good to see guys playing free and confident.”

Five Degrees of Heat from Saturday night’s game:

1. Game flow: The Heat led 34-29 at the end of the opening period and 62-53 at halftime.

From there, the Heat saw the 76ers close within three midway through the third period, before pushing back to a 96-75 lead entering the fourth, with Burks beating the buzzer at the end of the third with a 3-pointer.

At that stage, Spoelstra was able to sit Adebayo for the night, but stayed with Herro as the 76ers trimmed what had been a 25-point Heat lead to 17 before order was restored, with Herro pulled with two minutes to play and the Heat up 21.

That allowed Spoelstra to insert returning G League players Isaiah Stevens, Keshad Johnson and Josh Christopher.

“Guys are getting confidence with the offense, creating shots for each other,” Spoelstra said. “Always looks better when the ball goes in.”

2. Still going: At 8 for 10 on 3-pointers the previous two games, Herro opened by converting his first two attempts from beyond the arc.

While he then missed his next two 3-pointers, he more than compensated with a falling circus shot in the lane in the second period that he turned into a 3-point play, up to 17 points by halftime.

“I drew the foul and threw the ball up,” Herro said of his circus shot. “Ball’s got magic to it sometimes.”

Herro went in having scored 29 or more in three of the previous five games.

He closed 11 of 17 from the field and 5 of 9 on 3-pointers, also with seven assists.

“He’s playing so patiently without the ball. It’s really slowing down for him,” Spoelstra said. “Guys are getting comfortable getting him the ball when he’s on the move.”

Herro said the Heat’s 33 assists made it easy on everyone.

“We know we’re all at our best when the ball is popping,” Herro said.

3. Doubling up: The double-double was Ware’s fifth in the last eight games, the sixth time in the last eight games he has reached double digits in rebounds.

With his 12th double-double of the season, Ware passed Udonis Haslem (2003-04) for the fourth-highest total by a Heat rookie. The record is 18, shared by Rony Seikaly (1988-89) and Sherman Douglas (1989-90), with Grant Long third on the list at 14 (’88-89).

“My role right now is just try to rebound and defend,” Ware said.

He closed 6 of 6 from the field, including a 3-pointer.

“I love what he’s doing,” Spoelstra said. “Number is, he’s glass eating. He has such a knack for rebounding over a crowd. He does rebound in traffic, too. There’s a lot of contact down there. He finds a way to come up with it.”

4. Another spin: The Heat wheel of lineups reached a 25th combination, with Larsson starting in place of Wiggins, who remained in South Florida due to a hamstring issue.

This time Spoelstra opened with Adebayo, Ware, Herro, Larsson and Burks.

It was Larsson’s third start, with the 2024 second-round pick out of Arizona having also started in the Jan. 23 loss in Milwaukee and the March 10 home loss to the Timberwolves.

Larsson closed with 14 points, six rebounds and four assists.

“Pelle is just an ignitable player. He makes things happen out there, the steals, the deflections, the hard plays, those are momentum shifting plays that he has a knack for,” Spoelstra said.

Burks had been questionable earlier in the day due to back discomfort. He came around to close 7 of 13 from the field, including 6 of 12 on 3-pointers.

“He’s a pro’s pro,” Spoelstra said. “He’s maximizing these opportunities. When we’re playing the right way offensively, he can be one of the best beneficiaries, of the ball moving,”

The Heat’s lineup count pales in comparison to the tanking 76ers, who on Saturday unveiled their 50th lineup in their 74th game.

5. The tank angle: The 76ers’ tanking is due to far more than the injuries that have sidelined Embiid,  George, Maxey and several other rotation regulars.

As part of the highly regrettable salary dump of Al Horford in 2020, the 76ers’ pick in this year’s draft will go to the Oklahoma City Thunder if it is beyond the top six. The 76ers entered Saturday with the league’s sixth-worst record, falling to 23-51 with the loss.

As it is, the Heat’s first-round pick in June also will go to the Thunder if it is outside of the lottery’s 14 selections, which will be the case if the Heat make the playoffs.