Miami (USA), May 13 (EFE) .- Forward Jimmy Butler scored 21 points, center Bam Adebayo achieved a double-double of 18 points with 12 rebounds that left them in front of the Miami Heat in the victory of 106-94 they got against the Philadelphia Sixers.
The victory, the fourth in a row, allowed the Heat (39-31) to remain in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, tied with the New York Knicks and one game behind the Atlanta Hawks (40-31) who are fourth and leaders in the Division Southeast.
The Hawks have a tiebreaker over the Heat; Miami owns it against the Knicks.
Guard Tyler Herro scored 18 points, Slovenian point guard Goran Dragic reached 15 and fellow number one Kendrick Nunn scored 13 points.
Miami captain, center Udonis Haslem, played his first minutes of the season in the first half, scored four points and was sent off with two technical fouls in just under three minutes.
Forward Tobias Harris scored 21 points, guard Shake Milton added 12 and guard-forward Danny Green had 11 more points for the Sixers, who could have clinched first place in the Eastern Conference heading into the playoffs.
The Cameroonian center, Joel Embiid, candidate for the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award of the season, who has had health problems due to the flu, earlier in the week, achieved only six points by scoring just 3 of 9 shots from countryside.
Philadelphia (47-23) is going home for its last two games of the season, both against Orlando, on a Friday and Sunday. Whichever game he wins, they assure him the best record in the Eastern Conference, regardless of what his direct rivals, the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks, may do.
If he finishes first in the Eastern Conference, it will be the first the Sixers have seen since the 2001 season.
(c) EFE Agency