Heat just too much for Sixers

THE Philadelphia 76ers got its first taste of life without Joel Embiid in the play-offs, going down 106-92 to the Miami Heat in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semi-finals series.

Embiid (pictured), a major MVP candidate, suffered a right orbital fracture and a mild concussion in the Sixers’ Game 6 victory over the Toronto Raptors in the first round of the playoffs which ruled him out indefinitely.

DeAndre

Jordan was thrust into the starting line-up as Embiid’s replacement, but struggled at both ends of the floor as Embiid’s absence was felt.

It placed an extra burden on Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris and James Harden to step up their offensive output, but they simply could not do enough to stop Miami taking the spoils in the opening game.

The Heat began the game in explosive fashion, romping to an early lead as Doc Rivers’ side struggled to find the needed chemistry without Embiid with the hosts taking a 30-22 lead in the first quarter.

However, the Sixers roared back in the second and stole the lead in the contest, going into halftime with 51 points to the Heat’s 50.

Sixers coach Doc Rivers’ decision to start, and then go back to Jordan, in the second half saw him cop plenty of heat from fans on social media, with many baffled in regards to some of his in-game decisions.

Deandre Ayton scored 25 points as top seeds Phoenix overpowered Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.

Doncic led the scoring with a game-high 45 points but it was not enough to stop Phoenix claiming a wire-to-wire 121-114 victory in the best-ofseven Western Conference semi-final series opener.

Ayton shot 12-of-20 from the field for Phoenix while Devin Booker added offensive thrust with 23 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.