Philadelphia beat Miami by a score of 117-101, even catching some fans off guard. "We knew the lines in Vegas listed us as favorites," said Philadelphia coach Bob. "And we knew we had a great shot going in, but really expected a more competitive game. I don't know whether we were really that good or whether they had something else on their minds. Whatever, we're thrilled to get this kind of win over an excellent team like Miami."

Said Miami star Jackson, "Coach kept yelling at us 'you know you're better than that,' and he was right. We just didn't have the intensity or whatever today, and it showed in our game. The good thing is that we know we can't play much worse than we did out there, and that we could have won if we'd played as good as we're capable of playing."

Philadelphia was led by Ferguson (17 points, 8 boards, 0 assists, 4 blocks), Wilson (6 points, 5 boards, 9 assists, a steal), Norman (18 points, 2 blocks). Miami was led by Jackson (29 points, a block), Fisher (7 points, a steal), Romero (12 points, 10 boards, 1 assists, a steal).

Philadelphia have been victorious in the past 5 games and jump to 11-8. They remain at #1 in the Atlantic and hold at #3 overall in the Eastern Conference. Miami stand at 8-11 and 4-6 at home. They stay at #4 in the Southeast and move down to #9 overall in the Eastern Conference.

box score Philadelphia roster Miami roster