Heat again too much for 76ers
Bam Adebayo caught a lob for an alley-oop dunk midway through the fourth quarter, then threw a lob to Jimmy Butler for another dunk about a minute later. Both were very easy. Joel Embiid could complicate those plays going forward — and the Miami Heat are heading north expecting that he might be waiting for them.
Adebayo scored 23 points, Butler had 22 points and 12 assists, and the host Heat beat the Philadelphia 76ers 119-103 for a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
“It’s always nice to win,” Butler said. “We just did what we’re supposed to do at home.”
Tyrese Maxey scored 34 points for Philadelphia, which got 21 from Tobias Harris and 20 from James Harden.
A 10-0 run in the fourth turned an eight-point Miami lead into an 18-point edge, sealing the win and ensuring the Heat would hold home court before the series shifts north.
Miami has taken a 2-0 lead in 18 previous series, including the first round this season against Atlanta, and won the matchup every time. The 76ers’ franchise has dropped the first two games of a matchup on 19 other occasions, never recovering to win the series.
The question going into Friday will revolve around whether Embiid could be ready for Game 3. The league’s scoring champion and MVP finalist is recovering from an orbital fracture and concussion and has, not surprisingly, been big-time missed by the 76ers.
“We don’t have a big man right now,” Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers lamented.
at Phoenix 129, Dallas 109:
Chris Paul scored 28 points, including 14 in another spectacular fourth quarter, to lead the Suns over the Mavericks for a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.
Paul — a 12-time All-Star who turns 37 on Friday — helped turn a tight game into a comfortable victory, the Suns’ 11th win in a row against the Mavericks, counting regular-season games.
The Mavericks led 60-58 at halftime but the Suns quickly recaptured the lead after Devin Booker hit backto-back three-pointers early in the third. The Suns took an 89-83 advantage going into the final quarter and it looked like a tough fight was coming.
But that’s about the time Paul decided the game was his to control, hitting six shots in a row on everything from three-pointers to midrange jumpers to layups.