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Heat rely on zone defense to deal 76ers first loss at home

PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia 76ers entered Wednesday night as the only unbeaten team at home in the NBA.

It turned out, however, the Miami Heat had just the thing to trip the Sixers up: zone defense.

Miami employed the zone liberally Wednesday night, using it on 39 possessions, per Second Spectrum -- more than any team in a single game this season -- as the Heat built a 16-point fourth-quarter lead before hanging on to win 108-104 in front of a sellout crowd of 20,715 at Wells Fargo Center, which went home after a loss for the first time this year.