Heat escape axe, keep 76ers winless

MIAMI – For much of the night, Philadelphia was in control. The 76ers had their biggest lead of the season at one point, and still led by 11 midway through the fourth quarter.

And then ...

“A very, very cruel loss,” 76ers coach Brett Brown said.

Even for a franchise that’s known nothing but misery of late, this one stung more than most.

Philadelphia is still winless this season, after Dwyane Wade scored 27 points, Justise Winslow came up with a huge tip-in with 27 seconds left and Miami held the 76ers without a field goal for a critical 7-minute stretch of the fourth quarter on the way to a 96-91 win on Saturday night.

The 76ers are now 0-14 this season, with a losing streak of 24 games when factoring in the end of last season.

“We were in a position to get our first win and we just couldn’t get into anything at the end of the game,” Brown said. “I give credit to a veteran Miami team. Defensively they were fantastic and we just had a hard time finding a shot. We were in a late clock a lot in the last 5 minutes and it’s a part of cruel path that we are going to evidently have to take.”

Oh, they’ve been on that path for a while. But this step was particularly painful.

In other results, Sacramento thwarted Orlando, 97-91; Indiana routed Milwauke, 123-86; Cleveland blasted Atlanta, 109-97; Washington nipped Detroit, 97-95; New York defeated Houston, 107-102; and San Antonio beat Memphis, 92-82.

Back in Miami, Hassan Whiteside finished with 13 points, nine rebounds and eight blocked shots for the Heat, who were down 17 at one point and still trailed 87-76 after a dunk by Nerlens Noel with 7:10 remaining. Miami outscored Philadelphia 19-2 to escape, and the 76ers – who started 0-17 last season – are now the owners of the ninth-worst start in NBA history.