Philadelphia, PA - The Miami Heat concluded their mini two-game road trip after facing the Philadelphia 76ers. They were coming off a dominant victory over the Chicago Bulls in an In-Season Tournament matchup, with a final score of 143-107. Second-year forward Keshad Johnson showed a strong glimpse of his potential, finishing with 14 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks, a steal, and an assist in 29 minutes.

However, it would be a different game against the 76ers, who were without seven-time All-Star Joel Embiid due to a right knee injury. Also, rookie forward, third overall pick, V.J. Edgecombe (left calf tightness), Kelly Oubre Jr. (left knee sprain), and Adem Bona (right ankle sprain) were sidelined.

The Heat remained without Andrew Wiggins (left hip flexor strain), Nikola Jovic (right hip impingement), and Tyler Herro (left ankle surgery).

The starting lineups:

Heat: Davion Mitchell-Pelle Larsson-Norman Powell-Bam Adebayo-Kel'el Ware

Sixers: Tyrese Maxey-Quentin Grimes-Justin Edwards-Paul George-Andre Drummond

Erik Spoelstra inserted Kel'el Ware back into the starting unit, alongside Bam Adebayo, in Friday night's game against the Bulls and stuck with it.

It was time for tipoff and Norman Powell was the first to punch the scoreboard with a left-wing three-pointer. It remained a tight first quarter, although Ware established his presence early, grabbing eight rebounds throughout the first 12 minutes of the game, six of them came from the offensive side.

Also, Davion Mitchell provided a great start for the Heat, finishing the first quarter with four points, five rebounds, and six assists.

It was at the beginning of the second quarter when they began to separate from the Sixers. They scored a couple of three-pointers from Simone Fontecchio and Ware to shortly lead by 16, which was their largest of the game.

However, the Sixers went on a 16-0 run to get back into the game and tie the scoreboard at 49 a piece. The Heat maintained a four-point lead heading into halftime, but lost tons of momentum.

Powell scored 23 points in the first half, along with three three-pointers out of four attempts. Ware also secured his seventh double-double of the season, his sixth out of the last seven games.

The Sixers made only three three-pointers out of 12 attempts in the first quarter, then proceeded to make six out of 10 attempts.

Before halftime, in the final seconds of the second quarter, Powell was fouled on back-to-back three-point attempts, and then to begin the third, the Heat stayed on fire. The team proceeded to go on a 14-4 run, then reclaimed a double-digit lead. However, the Sixers refused to waive the white flag, ending the third quarter only down by six.

The Heat continued to keep their lead alive, then sparked a 13-2 run. Afterwards, they pulled away and extended their win streak to four, with a final score of 127-117.

Powell finished with 32 points, along with four three-pointers made, four rebounds, two steals, and an assist in 29 minutes of action.

Ware was big for the Heat once again, 20 points, 16 rebounds, two steals, and a block in 26 minutes. It's his second consecutive 20 points with a 10-plus rebounds stat line.

"Just being aggressive, continuing to do that," he said about his approach to the game, "That's what the team needs and that's what I want to do."

Adebayo continues to find his rhythm offensively after a six-game absence due to a left great toe sprain. He finished with 18 points, 13 rebounds, an assist, and a steal in 33 minutes. It's his fifth double-double of the season.

"It's a collective effort," he said. "Everybody feels involved, everybody's getting the ball, everybody knows it's controlled havoc, in a sense. Being able to play that way, play fast, get out and run, and everyone knows their role."

Spoelstra alluded to the confidence boost Ware and Adebayo provided, both finishing with double-digit rebounds.

"How fun was that to see Kel'el in that second quarter? Rebounding everything, offensively, putting them back, and playing with so much more force than he was a year ago at this time," he said. "He's gaining confidence, I want to be open-minded to wherever it can go. I don't want to put a ceiling on him. Both of those guys understand how important rebounding is for us. We don't want to just leave it to them, but when they rebound like that against [Andre] Drummond, it just makes everything a whole lot easier for us."

The Heat will now prepare for a four-game homestand, but only one opponent currently has a winning record, the Detroit Pistons, which they'll face on Saturday night.

"Just have to figure out how to win the games," Spoelstra added about his takeaways from the road trip before heading back to Miami. "Our record before this road trip, we only won two games on the road. We took that to heart. Wanted to have a good, collective response. We get to go back home and play again tomorrow night. We're looking forward to it."

More Miami Heat News:

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- "Heat's Tyler Herro Eyeing Potential Return"

- "Heat Considering Massive Upgrades"