Miami Feels Heat From 76ers, Riley

Outside the Miami Heat locker room, Coach Pat Riley could be heard screaming obscenities at his team.

“Just awful. We didn’t come out ready to fight,” Riley said in disgust after the Heat missed a chance to gain ground in the race for the playoffs, losing to the 76ers, 82-72, Wednesday night at Philadelphia.

Allen Iverson scored 31 points before leaving with 1:11 left because of a thigh bruise, and the 76ers survived poor free-throw shooting to end Miami’s two-game winning streak and move back to .500 (28-28) for the seventh time in the last six weeks.

The Heat had won 15 of 20 after a 5-23 start. Miami is 11th in the conference and could have moved within two games of eighth-place Philadelphia with a victory.

“They don’t understand. They have a sense of well-being since we won a few games,” Riley said.

“They’re in there moaning about the officiating--and it was one of the worst I’ve ever been around in a big game--but they had the same opportunities to take the ball to the basket. Instead, they stood around and took jump shots. That’s who we are.”

Philadelphia shot 18 free throws in the fourth quarter and finished with a season-high 46.

The Heat did not attempt a free throw in the final 12 minutes.

Detroit 101, Chicago 89--Jon Barry scored 21 points for the Pistons and matched a career-high with 10 assists in replacing Jerry Stackhouse, who sat out at Auburn Hills, Mich., to rest a shoulder sprain.

Portland 105, Washington 101--Rasheed Wallace had 22 points and 14 rebounds, and the Trail Blazers won their seventh in a row by pulling away with a 12-2 run to open the fourth quarter at Washington.

The Wizards shot 56% through three quarters but went cold in the fourth quarter.

Seattle 98, Atlanta 81--The SuperSonics won their eighth in a row on the road and Gary Payton had 12 assists to move into 14th place in the NBA career assist list with 6,517.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 24 points and 16 rebounds for Atlanta.

Orlando 90, Toronto 85--Tracy McGrady scored 24 points for the Magic at Toronto, and the Raptors didn’t score in the final 4:54 en route to their ninth consecutive loss.

Milwaukee 95, Boston 92--The Bucks beat the Celtics for the fourth consecutive time behind Sam Cassell’s 26 points at Boston.

Charlotte 104, New Jersey 85--Jamal Mashburn, playing in his sixth game after sitting out 42 because of a strained abdominal muscle, scored a season-high 36 points at Charlotte, N.C., to help halt the Nets’ six-game winning streak.

Golden State 110, Denver 93--Antawn Jamison had 26 points and 12 rebounds at Oakland and the Warriors ended a seven-game losing streak.