76ers' loss to Miami looked familiar

The final minutes of Wednesday night's oh-so-close loss to the Miami Heat were indicative of the 76ers' entire nose-dive season.

Either the Sixers play poorly and have already chalked up a loss midway through the third quarter, or they falter in the game's final minutes, struggling to hit those crucial shots.

"Unfortunately, throughout the year, we've had a lot of those games where we haven't made the shots, we haven't made the plays in the last three or four minutes," said Sixers forward Jason Kapono. "Hence, we are where we are."

Kapono had one such shot: a wide-open three-pointer with 58.9 seconds remaining that would have given the Sixers a 98-95 lead. The Sixers did not score in the game's final 1:39, committing two turnovers - a charging call on Jrue Holiday and an offensive-goaltending call on center Samuel Dalembert - and missing two outside shots.

The Sixers' 99-95 loss to Miami, was their 52d of the season.

The Sixers did not practice Thursday, but play the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday at the Wachovia Center and at the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday. The Sixers have four games and less than one week remaining in the season.

The Sixers are 26-52, owners of the NBA's seventh-worst record.

After Wednesday night's loss, the Sixers' fifth consecutive defeat, coach Eddie Jordan said he was pleased with his team's response to Tuesday night's blowout home loss to the Detroit Pistons. Jordan specifically praised Dalembert and power forward Elton Brand, whose effort he had questioned on Tuesday night.

"I thought Sam and Elton started off great and then Sammy had a terrific game throughout," Jordan said. "Elton missed some shots but was great throughout the game. They responded to the things we had talked about after Tuesday's game, and I was happy about that."

Jordan continued by saying poor performances are inevitable, but such performances tend to be magnified because of the Sixers' disastrous season.

Game-time. Guard-forward Rodney Carney, who suffered a "sesamoid contusion" of his right big toe on March 30, will be a game-time decision for Friday's game against the Bucks.

Phillies offer. The Sixers are offering a specially priced $5 ticket in the mezzanine level to all Phillies fans who are attending Monday afternoon's home season opener at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies' game will start at 3:05 p.m. The Sixers' game will start at 7 p.m.

Fans wishing to take advantage of the offer can bring their Phillies ticket stub to the Wachovia Center box office to buy the $5 ticket.

Contact staff writer Kate Fagan at 856-779-3844 or kfagan@phillynews.com.