Bam Adebayo landed a lob for an alley oop dunk midway through quarter four, and then threw another lob to Jimmy Butler about a minute later.
Both were easy.
Joel Embiid could make it more difficult to play those plays moving forward — and the Miami Heat expect that he will be there waiting.
Adebayo scored 23 ppg, while Butler had 22 ppg and 12 assists. The Heat defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 119 to 103 on Wednesday night to take a 2-0 lead for the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Butler stated, “It’s always nice when we win.” “We did exactly what was expected of us at home.
Victor Oladipo scored 19 on his 30th Birthday, while Tyler Herro added 18, for the Heat. Tyler Herro was the East’s No. 1 seed. Oladipo scored 10 points in the fourth quarter.
Tyrese Maxiey scored 34 points in Philadelphia’s win, which received 21 points from Tobias Harris (and 20 from James Harden).
Maxey stated, “We have to go back on the drawing board and figure it out.”
The Heat won the fourth game with a 10-0 run. This turned an eight point Miami lead into an 18 point advantage. Game 3 will be played in Philadelphia on Friday.
The Heat and the 76ers are hoping history repeats itself.
In 18 series before this one, Miami led by 2-0. They have won every matchup. On 19 occasions, the 76ers’ team has lost the first two games in a matchup and never recovered to win the series.
Going into Friday, the question will be whether Embiid is ready to play in Game 3. The MVP finalist and league scoring champion is currently recovering from an orbital fracture. It has been a big missed by the 76ers.
Doc Rivers, Philadelphia coach, lamented that “we don’t have any big men right now.”
Adebayo is certainly not complaining. Adebayo was 8 for 10, from the field, and 8 for 8, from the line in Game 1. He followed that up Wednesday with a 7 for 11 night from the floor.
He said he is preparing as if Embiid would play Friday. Butler, who was close to Embiid during their time as teammates in Philadelphia is hopeful that his MVP pick will be able to play in the series.
Butler stated, “I want to challenge him.” “I do.
Rivers didn’t seem optimistic about the possibility that Embiid would be ready.
Rivers stated that he has many more steps to go. Rivers said, “I don’t believe he’s completed any of them at the moment.”
Philadelphia was not just hurt by Embiid’s absence, however. In Game 2, the 76ers shot 8 for 30 from 3-point range. From deep, they’re now at 14 for 64.
Harden stated, “When it comes down it, you have to make shots, especially if you’re on road against a very good team.” It’s very simple.
Danny Green went 1-10 from the field. This was the second time in his playoff history that he failed to make a shot in a playoff game. The other? The other?
But the Heat are not yet close. They are still two wins away from the East finals.
Erik Spoelstra, Heat coach, said that it is not easy to win the playoffs. We had some great stretches especially defensively. Our offensive stretches were excellent. We had some great offensive plays, but our defense was the key to our win.
TIP-INS
76ers: Harden was fouled on a 3 point attempt with 0.1 seconds remaining in the half. He made all three free throws to bring Philadelphia within 60-52 at intermission. Maxey sustained a cut to his right knee during the fourth quarter. The game was stopped temporarily while the 76ers treated him. He continued to play. Georges Niang also had an unusual stat line. In Game 1, he was 0 for 7, all 3-pointers, and then he fouled out in the 10th minute of Game 2. He fouled out in the fourth-fewest time he had ever played this season.
Heat: PJ Tucker turns 37 this Thursday. … The Heat announced it as the 497th consecutive sale, tied with Sacramento for the fifth-longest streak of sellouts in NBA history. Dallas holds the record with 864 consecutive sales and counting. Miami had a 44-34 rebounding advantage.
PASSING PAT
Spoelstra’s postseason record rose to 91-59 (.607) with the win. He moved up to fourth in the NBA’s win percentage list, behind only Steve Kerr, Phil Jackson, and Billy Cunningham. Spoelstra’s winning percentage was.732 on Wednesday night. He would have been his boss, Heat President Pat Riley. They went 171-111 (.606)
KENTUCKY SOUTH
Wednesday night was a deep night for Kentucky. John Calipari, Wildcats coach, was present at Game 2 to witness Herro officially receive the Sixth Man award. Adebayo and Maxey, former Kentucky players who played on the Heat and76ers were also present: Mychal Mulder, Heat two-way player and Heat two way player. Riley was also from Kentucky.
UP NEXT
Philadelphia’s Game 3 will be played Friday.
