Miami Heat Face Elimination After Dropping Game 4 to Philadelphia

The Miami Heat found themselves one quarter away from tying their first round series with the Philadelphia 76ers - but a late comeback by the Sixers now has the men from Biscayne Boulevard one loss from their season coming to an end.

Miami dropped game four of the series 106-102 on Saturday afternoon, despite Dwyane Wade coming off the bench with 25 points to lead the head while Goran Dragic added 20 points.

J.J. Redick led Philadelphia with 24 points, as the Sixers now will host Game Five on Tuesday. Miami needs to win to force a Game Six on Thursday back at the AmericanAirlines Arena.

Ben Simmons was the first rookie to since Magic Johnson in 1980 to have a playoff triple-double. 

"I'm shocked that we won this game," 76ers coach Brett Brown said. "We really didn't have a right to win the game."

Here's why he said that: His team turned the ball over 27 times, shot 7 for 31 from 3-point range and trailed by 12 late in the third quarter in an extremely hostile environment against a desperate opponent.

Despite it all, the 76ers were unfazed.

Philadelphia turned a 10-point deficit into a seven-point lead with a 19-2 run that ended midway through the fourth quarter, then absorbed the best shot Dwyane Wade could throw at the 76ers in the final minutes before heading home with a chance to close the Heat out in Game 5 on Tuesday.

"They don't let you off the hook," Wade said, tipping his cap to the 76ers. "You make one mistake, or you take your foot off the gas for one second, they make you pay."

Wade doesn't have a contract for next season. He's said if he plays, he'll be back with Miami — though there's no guarantees.

And that means Saturday might have been his last home game in a Heat uniform. If he knows what the future holds, he didn't offer any hints.

"I'm focused on the next game, trying to win that one," Wade said.

Simmons became the first rookie since Magic Johnson in 1980 to post a playoff triple-double — 17 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists. Joel Embiid finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds for Philadelphia.

"We took care of business," Embiid said.

Wade carried the comeback effort, with the Heat down six and less than 2 minutes left. His three-point play cut the margin in half and his next two field goals got Miami within one each time.

The Heat got no closer.

James Johnson had 15 and Hassan Whiteside finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds for Miami, which now needs to pull off some history. The Heat have erased a 3-1 deficit only once, in 1997 against New York.

"We all feel that we're this close," said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, holding his thumb and index finger maybe a millimeter apart. "That's what makes this game tough. They made bigger plays than us in the fourth quarter."

Miami held slim leads at the half — 2-0 in players who went to the locker room injured, 4-0 in stitches received, 61-56 on the scoreboard.

A wild scene was the story of the second quarter. Philadelphia's Dario Saric was driving from the right wing and had his dribble knocked away by Justise Winslow, and four players wound up on the floor as they went for the loose ball. Josh Richardson took the worst of it, getting slammed into by Embiid. Richardson stayed down for more than a minute, eventually getting helped to his feet and to the Miami locker room.

Hardly anyone noticed.

All eyes were on the other end, where Dragic was shoved to the floor by Robert Covington. James Johnson — a black belt and MMA fighter — took exception and went toward Covington, so Simmons came in for a few words.

"He was protecting his guy," Covington said of Johnson.

"Physical, competitive basketball," Spoelstra called it all.

The 76ers kept hitting Miami in the second half too, albeit on the scoreboard. And now Tuesday awaits, with Philadelphia — coming off a Super Bowl title and Villanova's NCAA crown — on the brink of another celebration.

"We've got to finish it," Simmons said.