The Sixers showed a whole lot more fight tonight than they did in game two, but in the result was the same. The Heat defeated the Sixers 100-94 to take a seemingly insurmountable 3-0 series lead. No team has ever overcome a 3-0 deficit in this round of the NBA playoffs.
The Sixers led for large stretches of the game and stretched that lead to as many as ten in the first half, but Heat's stars took over in the second half as they outshot and out-rebounded the Sixers by a wide margin. Miami dominated on the glass 50-34, but it was most evident on the offensive end. The Heat grabbed 20 offensive rebounds leading to over 20 second chance points.
It was really the same story over and over each trip down the floor. Dwyane Wade or LeBron James would bring the ball up and the Sixers defense would collapse on them leaving them exposed in the front court. So whether one of the two dish the ball off for a easy basket or miss a shot, there was always several Heat players around the basket to take advantage.
On the offensive end, the story down the stretch was basically the same it's been most of the season. The Sixers simply miss shots. Andre Iguodala was 3-10, Thaddeus Young was an awful 1-8, Louis Williams scored 15 points but on 5-12 shooting and Jodie Meeks was 2-8 from the floor. The only Sixers that were getting the ball to fall consistently were Elton Brand, who scored 21, and Jrue Holiday who dropped 20 on 4-5 three point shooting.
The fourth quarter of this game was basically a clinic in the difference between a team with stars and one without. For the Heat, it became a two man game with Dwayne Wade and Lebron James dominating the ball and making shots. For the Sixers, there was clearly just no go to guy.
Game four is Sunday at 1pm in Philadelphia. The game will be on ABC as the Heat go for the sweep.