PHILADELPHIA -- Joel Embiid and Hassan Whiteside are going a long way toward returning the center position to prominence in the NBA.

Embiid is, in the meantime, trying to make the Philadelphia 76ers relevant.

The rookie center scored 22 points and slumping Robert Covington added a critical 3-pointer late in the game as the Sixers beat the Miami Heat 101-94 on Monday night.

Philadelphia used a late 10-0 run to win its fourth straight home game, and withstood a career-high 32-point effort from Whiteside, Miami's fifth-year center. Whiteside, the NBA's leading rebounder, also had 13 boards, his 12th double-double in 13 games.

"I feel we're moving in the right direction," Sixers coach Brett Brown said.

It helps that he finally has Embiid at his disposal. He was the third overall pick in the 2014 draft, but sat out two years while recovering from a pair of foot surgeries. The team is still limiting him to 24 minutes a night as a precaution, and will continue to do so until at least Christmas.

On Monday, he shot 7 of 13 from the floor while playing a little over 23 minutes, and contributed five free throws to the decisive flurry, including two that put the Sixers ahead to stay, 93-91, with 3:24 remaining.

He said afterward that he relished the opportunity to face a guy as talented as Whiteside.

"I like playing against guys that are good," Embiid said. "Since high school, that's how I've always gotten better. I get my (butt) busted, and I learn from that."

The NBA has, in recent years, trended toward smaller, more skilled teams, but the development of these two young big men runs counter to that.

"(Embiid) talked about bringing back the center position, how many great centers there are and how well I was playing," Whiteside said. "I agree totally with him. There are so many great centers."

After Embiid put the Sixers ahead, Miami turned the ball over. Covington then took a pass from Gerald Henderson on the right wing and nailed his only triple of the night in five attempts.

Covington, who finished with nine points, was 4 of 13 from the floor in all, and this season is shooting just 26.2 percent. He was booed after every miss Monday.

"It goes in one ear, out the other," he said.

He nonetheless said his late shot was "a big relief."

"It was going to come, whether late in the game or early," he said. "I knew I was going to make a big play, but Gerald found me in great position and I just knocked it down. I shot it with confidence."

Henderson added a season-high 19 points for Philadelphia. Jahlil Okafor scored 15 points, and Ersan Ilyasova had 10 points and 11 rebounds.

The score was tied four times in the fourth quarter, the last at 91 on two free throws by Heat guard Goran Dragic with 3:38 left.

Miami did not score again until Josh Richardson sank a 3-pointer with 1.6 seconds remaining, the Heat's only field goal in the final 4:44.

The Heat, who offset 35.6 percent first-half shooting with 14 second-chance points, moved to a 32-24 lead early in the second quarter behind Whiteside's 12 points. The Sixers, however, scored seven of the half's last eight points, the last of those on Covington's layup with 5.2 seconds left. That enabled Philadelphia to carry a 46-45 edge into the break.

Whiteside had 16 points and seven rebounds in the half to lead Miami, while Embiid paced the Sixers with 10 points.

Whiteside tacked on 12 points in the third quarter, including three-point plays on consecutive possessions late in the quarter to knot the score at 68. Philadelphia owned a 78-76 advantage by the end of the quarter, however.

NOTES: Philadelphia G Jerryd Bayless, who missed the first 13 games with a wrist injury, made his season debut, scoring four points in a little over 15 minutes off the bench. ... Earlier in the day, the Sixers sent G-F Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot to the Delaware 87ers, the team's NBA D-League affiliate. ... Philadelphia C Jahlil Okafor, who underwent offseason knee surgery, had his minutes restriction, previously 24, lifted. He played nearly 25, shooting 7 of 13 from the floor for his 15 points. ... Heat F Justise Winslow missed his fourth straight game with a sore left wrist, and C Willie Reed sat out after hyperextending his right knee in Saturday's victory over Washington. ... Sixers coach Brett Brown said before the game that C-F Nerlens Noel, who has yet to play this season after undergoing minor knee surgery on Oct. 24, is still a few weeks away from returning.