Tyler was the Herro For Miami
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
By Andrew Rosario
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
Miami, Fla.- Without arguably the league’s Most Valuable Player in Philadelphia 76er’s Joel Embid, the Miami Heat took advantage in the first game of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals in front of a sold-out crowd. The Heat took out the Atlanta Hawks in the opening round of the playoffs 4 games to 1 while Philadelphia needed 6 games to take out the Toronto Raptors but it did not come without a cost. Embed had already been diagnosed with a right thumb ligament damage that would need surgery. He elected to play through the pain and decided to get off season surgery. Late in the series clinching game against Toronto, Embid suffered a concussion and right orbital fracture forcing him to miss
game 1. Embid’s status for game 2 is undetermined.
Miami did not waste anytime taking advantage of Embid’s absence. Heat’s forward Sam Adebayo scoring back-to-back baskets putting the team up 11-4. Guard Max Strus 3-pointer extended the lead to 18-6 and Miami would close out the quarter 30-22. Philly had an answer in the second quarter.
Aside from picking up their defense holding Miami to 40% shooting, they got much needed offense Tobias Harris (10 points) and James Harden (8 points) taking a 1-point 51-50 halftime lead. It all went south for Philadelphia in the second half.
After two Tyrese Maxey free throws put Philly up 59-57, the Heat saw Adebayo score the next 5-points putting them up 64-61 and Miami never looked back taking a 80-73 lead into the final quarter.
The Miami Heat outscored the Philadelphia 76ers 56-41 in the second half coasting to the 106-92 win.
Harris led all scorers with 27 points. Harden, who’s playoff history has been well documented, struggled in the second half only scoring 9-points. He finished the game 5-13 and missed 5 of 7 3-point attempts. Tyler Herro came off the bench and dropped 25. Said Heat head coach Eric Spoelstra of Herro “he’s a worker. He’s relentless.”
Sixers head coach Doc Rivers, who himself has postseason failures, was pleased with how the team came out to start the third quarter but they could not sustain the lead after going up by 5. “I liked how we fought back,” he began. “I liked how we came out in the beginning of the third quarter and then l didn’t like the rest of the game from that point on.”
The Philadelphia 76ers have a chance to steal game at FTX Arena Wednesday night before the series move the city of brotherly love for games 3 and 4. It will be a tough task if Embid is not able to play.
