It worked. And the Heat were the first to hit the distressed Philadelphia 76ers. Herro had 25 points – the second most he had ever played in a playoff game – while Bam Adebayo finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds and the top Heat left in the second half to beat the fourth 76ers 106. -92 in game 1. Eastern Region semifinal match. Herro was 4 for 6 from the range of 3 points. Everyone else in the game made a combined 11 for 64 from deep. “He’s a worker,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. “He is ruthless.” The 76ers were without Joel Embiid, the MVP finalist who is not even in Miami as he recovered from a fractured ankle and concussion – injuries sustained in Philadelphia’s first-round win in Toronto. He is not expected to play in Game 2. And as expected, he missed it. Except for Adebayo, who lacked almost nothing. He was 8 out of 10 from the floor, 8 out of 8 from the line. “I feel like I’m doing projects,” Adebayo said. Jimmy Butler added 15 points for the top Heat, who got 10 from Gabe Vincent and P. Jay Tucker. Tobias Harris scored 27 points for Philadelphia, which got 19 from Tyrese Maxey and 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists from James Harden. The 2nd race is on Wednesday in Miami. “I did not like the way we moved the ball,” said 76ers coach Doc Rivers. “I thought we had a late night. I thought our physical condition affected us tonight and that had an impact. There were too many times, we would do the extra dribbling and when we got there they got there.” Miami came out as aggressive as they could, putting Tucker in Harden and putting him on guard 94 feet on the floor in a similar approach to that used by the Heat against Tray Young of Atlanta in the first round. “I’m doing my job,” Tucker said. It worked – for a while. Miami led by 12 points in the opening quarter, then a 10-2 streak fueled by eight points from Hero gave the Heat a 13-point lead at 37-24 to spend most of the half. The margin was still 46-36 in the middle of the second after another Herro basket. The rest of the half was all Philly. And that was the 76ers takeaway from tonight. “It is possible. “It’s possible,” Maxey said. “It’s not completely inaccessible.” Miami went 1-9 off the field in the last 6 minutes of the half, with four upsets and there, and Philadelphia won 15-4. Harden’s shot in the lane, in the remaining 28 seconds, brought the 76ers to 51-50, their first lead of the night and the score they got in the locker room. The 76ers scored the first four points of the second half, rising by five. That was as good as it’s for the 76ers. “I liked the way we counterattacked,” Rivers said. “I liked how we got out at the beginning of the third quarter … and then I did not like the rest of the game from that point on.” Adebayo got a ball pass from Tucker for a dunk that put Miami 62-61, and that would be the last change lead of the night. It was the beginning of a 10-0 streak that created a cushion, and then a 13-2 streak early in the quarter judged things and pushed the Heat Edge to 98-77. “It’s the playoffs,” said Adebayo. “First to four”. TIPS 76ers: Philadelphia dropped to 6-9 without Embiid this season. … DeAndre Jordan started in place of Embiid and had four points and two rebounds in 17 minutes. … Georges Niang was 0 for 7, all those shots from 3-pointers. Heat: Kyle Lowry (hamstring) lost his third consecutive game. … The reserve center Dewayne Dedmon received three fouls in the space of 23 seconds of the first ten minutes. He then had two more at 1:46 of the third, giving him five fouls at 4:14 of playing time. HIT The teams combined to shoot 15 for 70 in the first half from 3 points – 6 for 34 of the 76ers, slightly better 9 for 36 of the Heat. Philadelphia’s 17.6% crossover was the second worst of the season. The only worst game of the 76ers was a 17.1% game, also in Miami. ROBINSONA IS SITTING Heat guard Duncan Robinson, who led Miami to games played for the third consecutive regular season, did not appear in Game 1. It is the first time since April 2019 that he has dressed but not played, finishing a series of 256 games including playoffs. of . He lost three games this season while on Miami’s inactive list. NEXT The 2nd race is on Wednesday in Miami. ——