Heat get Jimmy Butler back, rally past woeful 76ers

Miami pulls away in fourth quarter

Jimmy Butler returned from a five-game absence due to a sprained right ankle and scored 23 points in 22 minutes to lead the Miami Heat to a 108-102 victory over the hapless Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night.

The Heat trailed 82-79 entering the fourth quarter, but Goran Dragic scored Miami's first five points of the period to give the hosts an 84-82 lead. Bam Adebayo hit a jumper 14 seconds later, and the Heat never trailed again.

Butler hit a 3-pointer just 2:10 into the third quarter to bring the Heat within 65-62, but the 76ers came right back with seven straight points, extending their lead to 72-62.

Embiid sits again for 76ers

Joel Embiid sat out his second straight game due to left knee soreness for the 76ers, who lost their fourth straight game. This was the 76ers' first game against the Heat since trading away Butler, Josh Richardson and two future first-round picks to Miami in February for Tobias Harris.

Harris scored 21 points off the bench for Philadelphia, hitting 8 of 17 from the field, including 5 of 10 from beyond the arc. Ben Simmons led the 76ers with 22 points, but Al Horford struggled again, shooting 3 of 14 from the field and scoring eight points.

The 76ers have now lost eight of their last 11 games and have fallen to 10th place in the Eastern Conference standings. Box Score