MIAMI _ The Miami Heat had enough grit, turning this into a foul-filled street fight.
They had enough fire, Justise Winslow chasing down Joel Embiid for a blocked shot, Goran Dragic flexing amid his third-quarter scoring outburst.
But what they did not have were enough weapons or the ability to sustain, eventually worn down in a 128-108 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night at AmericanAirlines Arena.
On a night Embiid reappeared as a masked man, a night Heat center Hassan Whiteside again disappeared amid foul trouble, the Heat fell to a 2-1 deficit in the best-of-seven opening-round NBA playoff series.
With the Heat able to muster little of consistency beyond the 23 points of Dragic and 19 of Justise Winslow, the 76ers methodically utilized the depth of their roster to reclaim homecourt advantage.
Embiid, sidelined the previous 10 games with a facial fracture, sparked the 76ers with 23 points, going 10 of 15 from the line and contributing to the Heat's foul trouble. Whiteside, by contrast, had a single basket in yet another foul-filled performance, closing with five points and two rebounds.
Game 4 is Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on the Heat's home court before moving on to Philadelphia for Tuesday's Game 5.
The 76ers had Embiid back in their starting lineup, with Ersan Ilyasova back with the second unit. Philadelphia's opening lineup was rounded out by Dario Saric and Robert Covington at forward, J.J. Redick and Ben Simmons at guard.
The Heat remained with an opening five of Whiteside at center, James Johnson and Josh Richardson at forward, Dragic and Tyler Johnson at guard.
The game turned when the 76ers opened the fourth quarter with a 9-1 run, with the Heat relying too much offensively on Game 2 hero Dwyane Wade and unable to get Whiteside going. It led to a Heat timeout with 9:11 to play, down 105-95.
That is when Whiteside finally got his first shot and basket of the night, dunking off a Wade alley-oop pass to help draw the Heat within 105-99.
The 76ers again pushed to a double-digit lead, with a pair of Richardson 3-pointers keeping the Heat within striking distance before an Embiid 3-pointer put the 76ers up 117-105 with 4:39 to play.
Whiteside's foul trouble continued with his fourth with 8:27 to play in third period, on an Embiid drive. The 76ers then moved into the bonus with 7:49 to play in third period.
As the free throws continued to build up, the 76ers took a 96-94 lead into the fourth quarter.
The game turned contentious with 10:26 left in the second period, when Wade and Justin Anderson get into it along the baseline. Each was called for a "physical taunting" technical foul.
In a first half loaded with fouls, free throws, four technical fouls and bodies flying, the Heat emerged with a 64-63 halftime lead.
Winslow closed the first half with 19 points, one more than he scored in any regular-season game this season.
The Heat shot 20 of 26 from the line in the first half, the 76ers 14 of 19.
The Game 2 foul trouble carried over for Whiteside, who was forced to the bench with his second foul with 6:46 left in first period on a pump fake from low-scoring 76ers backup center Amir Johnson. Embiid then was called for his second foul with 1:58 to play in the opening period, remaining in the game.
Whiteside then was called for his third foul with 8:15 left in second period.
The Heat this time opened with Richardson defending Simmons. The problem was on the other end for Richardson, who had three turnovers in the game's opening minutes.
The Heat fell behind by 11 early, but with a solid showing from the second unit, led by Winslow, who sparked a revival with 10 first-quarter points, they were able to close within 37-33 going into the second period.
The 76ers won the series opener, 130-103, Saturday, in the highest-scoring playoff game by a Heat opponent. The Heat then won Game 2 113-103 Monday in Philadelphia, to snap the 76ers' 17-game winning streak.
This game was the Heat's first home playoff game since they defeated the Raptors 103-91 in Game 6 of the 2016 Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Heat entered having lost two of their previous three series home openers, in the 2014 NBA Finals against the Spurs and then in that 2016 series against Toronto.
