As Bam Adebayo exited practice Saturday, he offered the tired maxim of how a playoff series doesn’t begin until someone wins on the road.
When it comes to Adebayo and the Miami Heat, the hope, in that case, may be that this series never begins. Because it well could take four home victories by the top-seeded Heat to advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the second time in three seasons.
For a second consecutive game the Heat were pushed aside by the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center, this time by a 116-108 count Sunday night.
So after two victories at FTX Arena and then these two losses in Philadelphia, the Heat return home for Tuesday’s 7:30 p.m. Game 5 in a 2-2 tie, with a Thursday 7 p.m. return to Wells Fargo Center also assured. A winner-take-all Game 7 in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series, if needed, would be Sunday in Miami.
Despite a second consecutive breakout night from Jimmy Butler, the Heat again were betrayed by their 3-point shooting, now again with recurring concern about Kyle Lowry’s balky left hamstring.
Butler offered his Sunday best, with 40 points, supported by 21 points from Adebayo, 15 from Victor Oladipo and 11 from Tyler Herro. All the while, Lowry remained hobbled, even while closing with seven assists.
In moving to 2-0 since center Joel Embiid returned from a concussion and orbital fracture, the 76ers got 31 points from James Harden, 24 from Embiid and 18 from Tyrese Maxey.
Five Degrees of Heat from Sunday’s game:
1. Closing time: The 76ers led 30-28 at the end of the opening period and 64-56 at halftime. The 76ers then went up 11 in the third period before the Heat closed within 89-85 going into the fourth.
The 76ers then went up 14 early in the fourth quarter, before an Adebayo 3-point play drew the Heat within 104-99 with 4:42 remaining.
But three times Harden stepped up with 3-pointers when the Heat threatened to move closer, including one that put the 76ers up 114-103 with 67 seconds to play, effectively ending it.
Harden scored 18 points in the fourth.
2. Butler again: As was the case in Friday night’s loss, Butler more often than not was the Heats’ offense.
That included a six-point possession in the third period, when he scored, absorbed a flagrant foul from Embiid, drained a free throw, and then, with the Heat retaining possession, drained a 3-pointer.
Butler was coming off Friday’s 33-point performance.
He closed 13 of 20 from the field and 12 of 13 from the line Sunday.
3. Limping Lowry: Lowry limped off the court and into the locker room with 6:46 left in the second period, shortly after ending his 0-for-7 start to the series.
Having missed four games and two weeks with a hamstring strain before returning in Friday night’s Game 3 loss, Lowry initially slumped over in discomfort after being fouled in transition. He returned to the bench shortly after going to the locker room.
With backup point guard Gabe Vincent, who had started in Lowry’s absence, on the bench with three fouls in his first three minutes, the Heat went more to Herro and Oladipo as ballhandlers.
The 76ers went on a 9-2 run in the immediate wake of Lowry’s leaving, before he returned with 4:01 left in the second, moving gingerly thereafter.
4. No shot: The Heat closed 7 of 35 on 3-pointers, with the 76ers dominating that element of the box score, outscored the Heat by 27 points from beyond the arc.
Before the game, 76ers coach Doc Rivers forecast, “I wouldn’t be shocked if Duncan Robinson plays some, the way he shoots the ball. The fact that they have him on the bench with all that shooting, just tells you how deep they are.”
Robinson did not play.
The Heat shot 7 of 30 on 3-pointers in Friday’s Game 3 loss.
5. Rotation realignment: With Dewayne Dedmon ill and not available, the Heat rotation was realigned, by downsizing.
When Adebayo went to the bench midway through the opening period, Oladipo entered, with 6-foot-5 P.J. Tucker moving to center.
Adebayo then returned late in the first quarter in place of Tucker, as with Embiid remaining on the court through both of those switches.
Erik Spoelstra’s other option at center was Omer Yurtseven, who had his moments in the middle during the regular season against Embiid.
Instead, when Tucker joined Adebayo on the bench with four fouls in the third period, Markieff Morris made his Heat playoff debut, as an undersized center.
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