Jimmy Butler’s acrobatic layup, 23 points lead Heat past 76ers

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jimmy Butler hit anacrobatic reverselayup in the final minutes, and his 23 points led five Miamiplayers in double figures as the Heat edged the Philadelphia 76ers101-99 on Monday night.

Butler was anassist shy of a triple-double, adding 11 rebounds and nine assists.He also had four steals. His spinning move and finishing layupwhile driving between the Sixers’ Joel Embiid and P.J. Tucker gavethe Heat a 100-99 lead with 1:28 to play after Philadelphia ralliedfrom an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter. He added a freethrow with 8.1 seconds left.

“I work onthat kind of stuff every day,” Butler said of his highlight-reelbasket. “I love to play this game and I love to compete, but it’salways much more fun when we win.”

How, Jimmy? 🤯#CenterCourtpic.twitter.com/5UXBZuMGsY

James Hardenhad a chance to win the game for the 76ers, but his 3-point try atthe buzzer bounced off the back of the rim.

“You have toexpect things to be a little bit gnarly on the road,” Miami coachErik Spoelstra said. “You have to weather a bunch of differentstorms. … Sometimes you just need the ball to bounce the right way.Harden had a window there and was open, but we contested so manyshots tonight that sometimes when you do get an open shot you don’thave a great rhythm.”

Gabe Vincentscored 14 points and Bam Adebayo added 13 as the Heat snapped afour-game losing streak.

Embiid ledall scorers with 27 points and 12 rebounds. Harden finished with 20points and 12 assists.

Max Strusshit a pair of free throws with 7:10 to play in the fourth quarter,giving the Heat an 11-point lead. But the 76ers mounted a furiousrally, erasing the deficit and taking the lead on a pair of Hardenfree throws.

The Sixersrally was keyed by Tyrese Maxey, who scored 19 of his 23 points inthe second half before fouling out with 3:21 to play.

The Heat dida nice job on Philadelphia defensively, forcing 18 turnovers.However, the 76ers also missed several layups, especially in thesecond half.

“I just thinkwe were really sloppy tonight, sluggish,” Philadelphia coach DocRivers said. “It happens, but you still have to find a way to winthe game. Tonight, we didn’t.”

Miami alsogot help from the bench as Struss scored 13 points and VictorOladipo added 11.

The 76ershave lost back-to-back games. Philadelphia hasn’t lost three in arow since the first week of December. They look to avoid the skidin a rematch with the Heat on Wednesday in Miami.

TIP-INS

Heat: Therewas a thought that G Kyle Lowry would return to the lineup Mondayafter he was upgraded on the injury report to questionable onSunday. However, the Heat downgraded Lowry just as quickly onMonday and he missed his ninth straight game with knee soreness.Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said there’s no timetable for his return,but that he was making progress. ... G Tyler Herro was also listedas questionable Sunday with a rib contusion, but he was in thestarting lineup.

76ers:Philadelphia played its final home game before heading out on afive-game trip. More than that, it is facing an incredibly dauntingMarch schedule. The 76ers will play 17 games in 31 days and 12 ofthe first 15 will be on the road. If that weren’t enough, theSixers will play four sets of games on consecutive nights, with alleight contests on the road in eight different cities.

HAMLIN CELEBRATED

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin was inattendance, sitting with 76ers owner Joshua Harris and Fanaticsowner Michael Rubin. He was wearing a No. 3 Sixers jersey andreceived a nice ovation from the sellout crowd when introducedduring a second quarter timeout.

UPNEXT

The teamsplay again at Miami on Wednesday night.