Herro leads Heat to Game 1 victory

Tyler Herro scored 25 points, Bam Adebayo finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds, and the Heat beat the shorthanded 76ers 106-92 on Monday night in the opener of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Jimmy Butler added 15 points for the top-seeded Heat, who got 10 from Gabe Vincent and P.J. Tucker.

The fourth-seeded 76ers were without Joel Embiid, the MVP finalist who isn’t even in Miami while recovering from an orbital fracture and concussion — injuries suffered in 76ers’s first-round-clinching win against the Raptors. He’s not expected to play in Game 2.

And as would be expected, he was missed. Tobias Harris scored 27 points for the 76ers, who got 19 from Tyrese Maxey and 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists from James Harden.

Game 2 is Wednesday in Miami.

Th Heat came out as aggressive as could be, putting Tucker on Harden and having him guard him the entire 94 feet of the floor in a similar approach to what the Heat utilized against the Hawks’ Trae Young in the first-round series.

It worked — for a while. The Heat led by as many as 12 in the opening quarter, then a 10-2 run fueled by eight points from Herro gave the hosts a 13-point edge at 37-24 to mark their biggest of the half. The margin was still 46-36 midway through the second after another Herro basket. The rest of the half was all the 76ers.

The Heat went 1-for-9 from the field over the final 6 minutes of the half, with four turnovers in there as well, and the 76ers went on a 15-4 spurt. Harden’s shot in the lane with 28 seconds left put the 76ers up 51-50, their first lead of the night and the score that they took into the locker room.

The 76ers scored the first four points of the second half, going up by five. That was as good as it got for the 76ers.

Adebayo took a bullet pass from Tucker for a dunk that put the Heat up 62-61, and that would be the final lead change of the night. It was the start of a 10-0 run that built a cushion, and then an 13-2 run early in the fourth decided matters and pushed the Heat edge out to 98-77. Curry-Morant duel already delivering: Ja Morant was rolling, making acrobatic drives to the basket.

Stephen Curry was taking and knocking down stepback 3s.

Yes, the All-Star guards got plenty of help in Game 1 of the Grizzlies-Warriors Western Conference semifinal series, but they didn’t disappoint in the opener of their highly anticipated showdown.

“Oh yeah, friendly competition, just enjoying the moment,” Curry said after the third-seeded Warriors took Game 1 on Sunday 117-116. “Understanding the big play. He had it going you know, he was going to try to get pressure on the rim, and it’s trying to do my part obviously.”

There’s no question two-time NBA MVP Curry and the league’s most improved player in Morant did their parts.

Morant was nearly unstoppable. After scoring with Jonathan Kuminga defending him, Morant emphatically proclaimed: “He. Can’t. Guard. Me.” For stretches, it appeared no one was to be able to defend Morant, who came close to a triple-double with 34 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.

But down the stretch Curry — who had 24 points and was 5 of 12 outside the arc — and the Warriors found a way.

Known more for his offense as a two-time scoring champ, Curry had a huge block as he swatted away a layup attempt by Morant with 20 seconds left. Teammate Klay Thompson had the big defensive play, forcing Morant to miss the would-be game-winning layup as time expired.

“Every game it’s going to be kind of a one-on-one type of situation,” Curry said. “Taking on all those challenges, you’re going to win some, you’re going to lose some. Now obviously you just be ready for when your moment happens on the defensive end.”

Morant said he simply missed the layup at the buzzer, but he had it going from 3-point range, hitting as many (four) as he did in all of the first round against the Timberwolves.

If that continues, he will be even tougher to contain.