Miami Heat Face Revenge-Minded Philadelphia 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers aren't getting mentioned much as legitimate challengers for the NBA title this season.  Instead, nearly every basketball expert thinks it’s just a formality that the Chicago Bulls will face the Miami Heat again in a repeat of last year’s Eastern Conference Finals.

While that may indeed end up being true, the 76ers are doing everything they can to disprove that theory and state their case as the best team in the Eastern Conference.

Philadelphia (16-6) will bring a four-game winning streak into Friday’s matchup with the Heat (16-6) after crushing the Bulls 98-82 on Wednesday.  The game is scheduled to tip-off at 7:00 p.m. (ET) and will be the second meeting between the teams this year after Miami routed the 76ers 113-92 on January 21.  The Heat also beat Philly 4-1 in the first round of last year’s playoffs.

Miami fell to 6-4 on the road Wednesday with a 105-97 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks (10-11).  The Heat led 40-23 at the end of the opening quarter but were outscored 58-37 in the second half to waste a 40-point performance from LeBron James, who scored 24 in the first 12 minutes.

Milwaukee got a team-high 31 points from point guard Brandon Jennings against Miami, as he connected on 7-of-14 shot attempts from 3-point range and also added eight assists with no turnovers and four steals.  The Bucks are just 3-9 on the road though and travel to Detroit for a Central Division battle with the Pistons on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

ESPN’s nationally televised doubleheader features a pair of NBA finalists from two years ago that are struggling to find their way during this shortened season.  The Boston Celtics (11-10) host the New York Knicks (8-13) in the first game at 8:00 p.m. followed by the Los Angeles Lakers (13-9) visiting the Denver Nuggets (14-7) at 10:30 p.m.  The Celtics and Lakers faced each other in the 2010 NBA Finals, but both teams have struggled at times this season and ranked seventh in their respective conferences heading into Thursday.

Boston has shown some signs of life lately though, going over the .500 mark for only the second time this year following a 100-64 blowout win over the Toronto Raptors (7-16) on Wednesday.  The Celtics improved to 6-2 without point guard Rajon Rondo, who has been out with a wrist injury but is expected to return against the Knicks.

New York has dropped nine of 11 and will be coming off a nationally televised home game Thursday against the Bulls (18-6) on TNT.

Los Angeles has been off since knocking off the Charlotte Bobcats 106-73 at home on Tuesday, the team’s third win in four games overall.  The Bobcats own the league’s worst record at 3-20, but the Lakers have also played like them on the road, dropping four of five en route to a 2-7 mark away from home this year.

Meanwhile, Denver will be returning home from LA after visiting the Clippers on Thursday in another nationally televised game on TNT.  The Nuggets and Lakers have split two meetings so far this season.