Nba, playoff results: Miami beats Philadelphia in game-2

The strength of the group. Watch the Miami Heat to understand the meaning of this expression: a talented team where even superstars make themselves available to others. “We sacrifice for each other, and that’s what gives us strength,” says Bam Adebayo. This team spirit is the secret ingredient that led Spoelstra’s team to close the Eastern Conference with the best record, the one that allowed them to go 2-0 over Philadelphia after 119-103 in Game-2.

A team victory with many protagonists, from 23 points from Adebayo to 12 assists from Jimmy Butler, from 18 points from Tyler Herro to 19 with which Victor Oladipo showed that he is making a comeback. Philadelphia is built differently, around the talent of Joel Embiid, however, who remained in the city of brotherly love to try to heal from a concussion. The Sixers would need their mvp candidate to play this series, but the Cameroonian is not sure to recover in time for Game-3, scheduled for Friday in Philadelphia.

the strength of the group

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Miami is a choral show, a splendid collective in which everyone knows their role. Kyle Lowry is missing, out for the 4th game in a row with a left adductor problem, but hardly anyone notices. “You need the right players to play like this, those who only care about winning and who are willing to put the team at the center of everything,” says coach Spoelstra. Butler is the first example: “For me, being a star means playing on both sides of the pitch, involving my teammates, making a basket when needed and always finding a way to win.”

He found him in Game-2, picking up the pace at the beginning of the third period to give the final push to Philadelphia: he and Adebayo, perfect example of the modern center capable of doing everything on the pitch, are the anchors of the team. Herro and Oladipo are the x-factors: the Sixth Man of the Year is the spark that ignites an attack from the bench that closes with 51.3% shooting; the former All Star of Indiana, on his 30th birthday, gives himself a game as a phenomenon, with 10 points in the fourth period and a super defense on James Harden. “I have faith in myself, in the work I did to get back here: now I just want to play” he says. He is doing it so well that he has earned a place in the quintet with which Miami closes the games, from being an added value to a team full of surprises.

does embiid come back?

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Under 2-0, Philadelphia has only one thought: when is Embiid back? The two games in Miami confirmed that the Sixers need their mvp candidate to play evenly this series, despite Tyrese Maxey’s blast to 34 points in Game-2. Except that the center may not be ready for the first of two challenges at the Wells Fargo Center: “I talked to him via FaceTime – says Doc Rivers -: he seems to be fine, but there are many levels he must overcome to get out of the anti concussion protocol. and so far none have passed “. If Miami is to prepare to face Embiid in Game-3, even if his presence is anything but obvious (the center would still struggle to even look at the mobile screen for more than 5 ‘), Philadelphia must understand how to play without of him.

It would help to shoot better than 8/30 from the arc, as Rivers points out, or find offensive production that goes beyond Maxey, Harden and Harris, who together produced 75 of the team’s 103 points. Or that Barba looked like the basket machine he was in Houston, instead of closing with 6/15 shooting and just 4 of his 20 points in the second half. As in the first game, also in the second when Miami raised the revs the Sixers confirmed that they lack something to be up to it. Or rather, there is no mvp candidate struggling with an injury at the most important moment of the year.

the match

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Miami breaks the balance at the end of the first quarter with Herro and accelerates to the 52-38 touched 5 ‘from the break, before Philadelphia, taking advantage of Harden’s best quarter in the series (12 of his 20 points), shortens to 60- 52. Butler raises the laps as soon as the second half begins and drags Miami to 73-58 which Adebayo slips in at 7’08 from the third siren. Phila does not sink thanks to Maxey, but in the fourth period Miami escapes until 104-86 which Oladipo signs with a triple with 5’32 “from the end. It’s Maxey again who makes the ending interesting, adding another 10 points to his collection. Miami, however, with the strength of the group never really opens the door for a comeback. And he earns the 2-0 from which the series restarts on Friday.

You love me: Adebayo 23 (7/11 from two, 9/11 free throws), Butler 22, Oladipo 19. Rebounds: Adebayo 9. Assist: Butler 12.

Philadelphia: Maxey 34 (11/19, 1/4, 9/11 tl), Harris 21, Harden 20. Rebounds: Korkmaz 6. Assist: Harden 9.