Miami takes on Philadelphia in conference showdown

Philadelphia 76ers (47-22, first in the Eastern Conference) vs. Miami Heat (38-31, fifth in the Eastern Conference)

Miami; Thursday, 7:30 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: The Miami Heat face the Philadelphia 76ers in a matchup of two of the top Eastern Conference teams.

The Heat have gone 22-17 against Eastern Conference teams. Miami is third in the Eastern Conference in team defense, giving up just 108.1 points while holding opponents to 45.7% shooting.

The 76ers are 29-10 against Eastern Conference opponents. Philadelphia is 7-3 in games decided by 3 points or fewer.

The teams meet for the third time this season. The 76ers won 125-108 in the last matchup on Jan. 14. Shake Milton led Philadelphia with 31 points, and Duncan Robinson led Miami with 22 points.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jimmy Butler is averaging 21.5 points, 6.9 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 2.1 steals for the Heat. Bam Adebayo is averaging 18.1 points and 6.9 rebounds while shooting 61.4% over the last 10 games for Miami.

Ben Simmons is averaging 14.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.6 steals for the 76ers. Tobias Harris is averaging 15.9 points and 5.3 rebounds while shooting 48.4% over the last 10 games for Philadelphia.

LAST 10 GAMES: Heat: 7-3, averaging 116.5 points, 38.2 rebounds, 26.2 assists, 9.3 steals and 2.9 blocks per game while shooting 50.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 114.2 points on 50.9% shooting.

76ers: 8-2, averaging 114.3 points, 44.8 rebounds, 24.2 assists, 10.6 steals and 6.3 blocks per game while shooting 48.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 104.3 points on 43.9% shooting.

INJURIES: Heat: Victor Oladipo: out (knee).

76ers: Matisse Thybulle: out (hand), Shake Milton: day to day (knee), Furkan Korkmaz: out (ankle), Joel Embiid: out (illness).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.