The Miami Heat now stand on the verge of a first round sweep over the Philadelphia 76ers after a 100-94 victory in Game 3 on Thursday. Dwayne Wade led the way for Miami with 32 points while Lebron James and Chris Bosh added 24 and 19 points respectively.
The 76ers were led by Jrue Holliday and Elton Brand, but Wade's late game heroics were a little bit too much for the 76ers to overcome. Our 76ers blog Liberty Ballers isn't ready to take a close loss as a moral victory.
The Sixers gave a fantastic effort but as Doug Collins said post game, "I'm a moral person, but I don't like moral victories." The 2010-2011 is one loss away from ending and there's no evidence to show that it won't happen on Sunday. The Sixers continue to get killed on the boards, struggle with offensive sets in the fourth, and let's face it, are playing against a team that 2 of the best players in the NBA are on; chances of Flyers vs. Bruins comeback are not likely at all.
According to Bob Cooney of Philly.com, Collins had a few more things to say about the loss.
"I look at the big picture," Collins said. "[Miami] shot 45 percent from the floor with 20 offensive rebounds. That's the game. Twenty offensive rebounds, 24 points off offensive rebounds and 48 points in the paint. There was nothing wrong with our offense."
I'm not sure there were too many people out there who expected the 76ers to win this series, but they might have expected them to take at least one game off the Heat. The 76ers are just outmatched against the Heat, especially in the superstar department, and that has been evident so far in the series. When the game gets to crunch time, the Heat have closers, and the 76ers simply do not.
Like we said, the 76ers now trail the Heat 3-0, and are one game away from elimination. They'll have an opportunity to keep their season alive on Sunday when they host another game against the Heat.