Miami, guided by its shooter Tyler Herro and by Bam Adebayo, dominating inside in the absence of Joel Embiid, got the better of Philadelphia (106-92), to score the first point in their conference semi-final East, Monday in the NBA playoffs.
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Without the Cameroonian pivot, who is nursing a fractured right eye socket and a concussion caused last week during the N.6 match against Toronto, the Sixers were necessarily helpless.
And despite Tobias Harris on coal (27 pts, 6 rebounds), they ended up cracking in the second half after having resisted well in the first.
42 points from the bench for Miami, including 25 for Herro
They were even ahead by one point at the break (51-50 MT), thanks to a hot shot from Tyrese Maxey (19 pts) to erase 14 units behind at the start of the 2nd quarter.
But Miami is very armed, on all lines and to the back of the bench, his replacements having brought 42 points (against 21 on the Philly side), including 25 for Herro alone (9/17 in shots, 7 assists).
Adebayo feasted on the racket (24 pts, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 interceptions), notably boosting the second Florida acceleration in the 3rd quarter, which folded the meeting.
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So much so that their leader Jimmy Butler did not have to force (15 pts, 9 rebounds) his basketball and that they were even able to afford the luxury of a skinny 25% success behind the arc, the Sixers having been abysmal in this area (17.6%).
Expected to guide his team offensively, James Harden weighed only 16 points (at 5/13) and 5 assists (9 rebounds).
Insufficient.
A return of Embiid, whose name has also returned in recent hours to the orbit of the France team, is apparently not ruled out for match N.3 or N.4 at the end weekend in Philadelphia.
In view of the unbalanced balance of power in this first game, it appears to be the sine qua non of a trend reversal for the Sixers, who will have to find some adjustments by the next meeting on Wednesday, again in Miami.
