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The Miami Heat will play a back-to-back set of home games Saturday and Sunday, hosting the Philadelphia 76ers on the front end and the Milwaukee Bucks on the back.
Saturday's game pits the Heat against the Sixers for the first time in the 2011/12 season. The Heat eliminated the Sixers, 4-1, from the playoffs a season ago. Since that defeat, Philadelphia has gotten stronger, ranking No. 2 in the NBA in scoring defense (87.4 points per game) and No. 1 in three-point defense (26.4 percent). The Sixers have posted a 10-3 record prior to Friday's matchup against the Atlanta Hawks. Indeed, Miami will have had an extra day of rest heading into Saturday's game, which tips off at 7:30 Eastern on Sun Sports.
The Bucks then visit Miami for the first of three meetings between the teams in the 2011/12 campaign. The Heat went 3-1 against the Bucks in the 2010/11 season. Despite shaking up its roster before the season began by acquiring Stephen Jackson, Shaun Livingston, Beno Udrih, and Mike Dunleavy, Milwaukee stands at just 4-9, the No. 4 team in the Central Division. Tipoff between the Heat and Bucks is set for 6 Eastern on Sun Sports./p>
For more on the Heat, please visit Peninsula is Mightier, SB Nation's Heat blog. For Sixers coverage, please visit SB Nation Philly and Liberty Ballers, SB Nation's 76ers blog. For the Milwaukee perspective, please visit Brew Hoop, SB Nation's blog about the Bucks.