Going into their second-round series with the Boston Celtics, the Philadelphia 76ers players were more than aware of the atmosphere they would encounter at a hostile TD Garden.Veteran Ersan Ilyasova, who is now in his 10th year in the NBA, has had enough experience playing in Boston and said before Monday night's game one that he was expecting a raucous crowd.He described Celtics fans as "really committed" and was hugely complimentary of the way they back their team in their arena.The Turkish power forward then interestingly stated that playing in front of the C's fans would be completely different to when they played against the Miami Heat in the first round.The 30-year-old taunted Heat fans by claiming that "the gym was half-empty" at American Airlines Arena.It didn't take long for these comments to be heard in South Beach and it prompted a response from franchise legend Dwyane Wade who hit back at the Sixers man.In a Twitter post, Wade wrote: “#HeatNation Let me apologize for this man that most of you don’t even know. He doesn’t know any better."

Having spent most of his career with the Florida-based outfit, Wade felt the need to defend the fans that have adored him throughout his 15-year career in the league.

Heat president Pat Riley also disagreed with Ilyasova's comments and addressed it in a humorous fashion.

"I don't care what Ilyasova says. We have the greatest fans in the world," he said, per Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

"They just sip a little more wine before they come to the games, but we got a raucous group of fans. The end of games three and four, it's just the way it is and that's what it's all about."

Miami fans have a reputation for arriving late to games in the regular season and often in the playoffs too.

But the stats show that the Heat has sold out 378 consecutive home games, which happens to be the eighth-longest streak in NBA history, according to The Miami Herald.

So there's no doubt that their fans do fill out the arena, it just takes them longer than others to arrive at the games and take their seats.

This usually applies to the fans in the lower seats close to the court which is easily visible on the television broadcasts and makes it seem like the arena is empty.

Even though D.Wade states that not many Heat fans will know who Ilyasova is, they'll surely know him by now and will reserve a hostile reception for him when he next visits Miami.

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