Heat take 2-0 series lead behind Bam Adebayo’s 23

Bam Adebayo’s 23 points and 9 rebounds has helped propel the Miami Heat to a 119-103 Game 2 victory over a Philadelphia 76ers squad minus Joel Embiid to take a 2-nil series lead in their second-round series.

Gabe Vincent started in Miami’s backcourt for the fourth-consecutive game in the absence of Kyle Lowry and the Heat dominated early, jumping out to a double-digit, first-half lead and holding off numerous Philadelphia fightbacks to hold onto it. Adebayo was the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, whilst Jimmy Butler added 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 12 assists on 8-of-15 from the field. Miami’s bench production was superb; Sixth Man of the Year winner Tyler Herro dropped 18 points and 7 rebounds off the bench, whilst former All-Star Victor Oladipo had 19 points and 6 rebounds of his own. Starters P.J. Tucker and Max Strus shot a combined 5-of-9 from three, as the Heat knocked down 14 of their 29 total attempts from behind the arc.

Philadelphia fought gallantly but were unable to trouble to one-seeded Heat without superstar Joel Embiid. Tyrese Maxey had a game-high 34 points on 12-of-22 from the field, whilst Tobias Harris added an efficient 21 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. James Harden had another difficult night shooting the basketball, finishing with just 20 points on 6-of-15 from the field and 1-of-5 from three, whilst Danny Green also had a night to forget, finishing with just 5 points on 1-of-10 from the field. Green and Harden shot a combined 2-of-14 from three, whilst Harris and Furkan Korkmaz were the only Sixers to hit multiple triples. Philadelphia’s centre depth is being put to the test and rinsing out any type of production has proved challenging for the Sixers’ coaching staff. DeAndre Jordan started in the middle and was a -9 in only 13 minutes, whilst Paul Reed had 4 points and 4 rebounds in his 25 minutes and was a -2. Philadelphia are hopeful that Embiid may return in Game 3 on Saturday but he will be playing through some level of pain due to his orbital fracture.

Three-point shooting proved pivotal in the Heat victory, with Miami knocking down 14 of their 29 attempts from behind the arc compared to Philadelphia hitting on just 8 of their 30 attempts. The Heat also dominated the boards and attempted more free-throws in their 16-point win. Whilst Miami were without Lowry, overcoming the loss of Embiid was always going to be near-impossible, especially with Harden looking below his best.

Both teams will head to Philadelphia for Game 3 – virtually a must-win for the 76ers if they are to keep their playoff dreams alive. The 76ers remain hopeful that Embiid will be on hand in front of his home fans, whilst Lowry remains out with a hamstring issue. The winner of the series will face the winner of Boston-Milwaukee in the Eastern Conference Finals for a shot at the NBA Finals in June.

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