Notebook: Heat 99, Sixers 79

By Andy Jasner, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: The Miami Heat continued their dominance over the Philadelphia 76ers in the regular season with their ninth straight victory. Dwyane Wade scored 26 points, LeBron James had 19 points and the Heat pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 99-79 victory Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center. Six Miami players scored in double figures as it improved to 17-6 and 7-4 on the road.

Thaddeus Young paced the Sixers with 16 points while Lou Williams and Jodie Meeks scored 13 points each. It was just the third home loss for the Sixers (12-3). Philadelphia had its four-game winning streak snapped and fell to 16-7 overall. The Sixers finished their seven-game homestand at 5-2.

QUOTABLE: "In the fourth quarter, we were able to play efficiently and pull away."
-- Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, on a 15-0 run in the fourth.

THE STAT: The Heat shot 52 percent from the field and 8-for-13 from beyond the arc.

TURNING POINT: The Heat set a tone with a 7-1 spurt to open the fourth quarter. It extended a four-point lead to 10 and completely turned the momentum in their favor. Later in the fourth, the Heat ripped off a 15-0 run to officially seal the victory.

HOT: Heat guard Mario Chalmers was 5-for-8 from the field and 3-for-4 from 3-point territory.

NOT: Elton Brand struggled for the first time this season, missing all three shots in 22 minutes for the Sixers.

QUOTABLE II: "This was probably the best game from start to finish in terms of playing together and communicating."
-- James.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Wade (26 points, five rebounds and four assists) and James (19 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists and two blocked shots) each played at an extremely high level and keyed Miami's victory.

INSIDE THE ARENA: The buzz inside the Wells Fargo began well before tipoff and continued throughout the game. This was a playoff-intensity atmosphere for a February regular season game and the sellout crowd of 20,694 was loud the entire night. It was the first sellout this season. Former Sixers forward Rick Mahorn took in the action from a front-row seat.

QUOTABLE III: "It doesn't frustrate us. We just have to keep playing hard and keep fighting."
-- Young.

GOOD MOVE: The Heat forced the Sixers further out on the perimeter than they wanted to be. Young and Evan Turner, among others, were forced to take jump shots at times instead of driving to the basket.

BAD MOVE: Philadelphia has been so good at guarding the 3-point line all season. It wasn't a banner night in that respect as the Heat shot 8-for-13 from beyond the arc.

ROOKIE WATCH: Heat guard Norris Cole scored 11 points in 17 minutes. Sixers forward Nikola Vucevic was scoreless in a brief stint late in the fourth. Forward Lavoy Allen was the first player off the bench and wound up with eight points and five rebounds.

NOTABLE: The Heat missed their first 10 shots in the third quarter. ... Andre Iguodala swished a shot from midcourt at the end of the third and the ruling by the officials was no good. A video replay confirmed the ruling. ... Miami outrebounded the Sixers 47-38. ... Sixers center Spencer Hawes missed his 10th straight game with a strained left Achilles. ... James has now recorded at least 15 points, five rebounds and five assists for the 25th straight game. The only other player in NBA history to accomplish that feat is Oscar Robertson. ... Brand went scoreless for just the fifth time in 823 games played and the third time in a Philadelphia uniform. The last time it happened was Feb. 3, 2009 against the Boston Celtics. ... The Heat won by at least 20 points for the fourth time this season.

NEXT: For the Heat, Sunday vs. Toronto, Tuesday vs. Cleveland, Wednesday @ Orlando. For the Sixers, Saturday @ Atlanta, Monday vs. L.A. Lakers, Wednesday vs. San Antonio.

• With the win tonight, Miami has won nine straight over Philly, tying its longest winning streak in the all-time series (12/11/96-3/8/99). The HEAT has won six of its past seven games. The Sixers four-game winning streak comes to an end. Philly plays at Atlanta tomorrow. The Sixers are 5-1 in the second game of back-to-backs this season and have yet to lose consecutive games this season.
• The Sixers scored just 79 points tonight, marking the second time over the past three games that they’ve scored below 80 and the third time overall this season. Philly scored below 80 points three times all last season. The 79 points is an opponent’s season-low for the HEAT.
• Philly lost by 20 points tonight after losing by 21 points at Miami on 1/21. The Sixers other five losses have come by a combined 24 points. It is Miami’s fourth win by 20+ points this season.
• The Sixers were outshot 51.9% to 39.5% from the floor. Philly is 3-5 when being outshot this season and 6-5 when shooting below 45.0% (1-2 below 40.0%). The Sixers are 1-4 when opponents shoot 45.0% or better this season, including 0-2 when the opposition shoots 50.0% or better (3-12 in 2010-11).
• Miami shot 8-of-13 from 3-point range while Philly had just 5 3FGM. The Sixers have hit fewer 3-pointers than the opposition in each of the past three games and are 3-6 when that occurs this season. In Philly’s seven losses, opponents are averaging 7.9 3FGM on 42.0% shooting compared to an average of 3.4 3FGM on 24.1% shooting in the Sixers 16 wins.
• The Sixers lost despite committing a season-low tying 7 turnovers. It is the third time over the past four games that Philly has had just 7 turnovers. The Sixers fall to 14-3 when committing 12 or fewer turnovers this season
• Elton Brand went scoreless in 23 minutes of play. It is just the fifth time he has gone scoreless in 823 games played and the third time as a Sixer (last 2/3/09 vs. Boston). The Sixers entered tonight 8-0 when he scored below 10 points after going 3-9 in 2010-11 and 3-18 in 2009-10.
• Jodie Meeks had 13 points tonight and shot 3-of-6 from 3-point range. The Sixers drop to 8-1 when he scores 10+ points this season. Meeks has hit 2+ 3FGM in six of the past seven games and has hit 3+ 3FGM eight times this season (18 times in 2010-11).
• Jrue Holiday had 7 assists without a turnover. It is the fourth time in his career that he has recorded 7+ assists without a single turnover. He had 8 assists without a turnover at New Orleans on 1/4. Over the past seven games, Holiday is averaging 1.4 turnovers after averaging 3.3 tpg the nine games prior.
• Dwyane Wade had a game-high 26 points on 10-of-20 shooting after missing the first meeting vs. Philly. Last season vs. Philly, he averaged a series-high 30.7 points on 51.6% shooting.