Herro, Adebayo help Heat take Game 1
MIAMI >> Tyler Herro scored 25 points, Bam Adebayo finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds, and the Miami Heat topped the shorthanded Philadelphia 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 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 Philadelphia's firstround-clinching win at Toronto. He's not expected to play in Game 2.
Tobias Harris scored 27 points for Philadelphia, which got 19 from Tyrese Maxey and 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists from James Harden.
Miami 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 Atlanta's Trae Young in the first round series.
It worked — for a while. Miami led by as many as 12 in the opening quarter, then a 10-2 run fueled by eight points from Herro gave the Heat a 13-point edge at 3724 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 Philly.
Miami went 1 for 9 from the field over the final 6 minutes of the half, with four turnovers and Philadelphia went on a 15-4 spurt. Harden's shot 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.