Adebayo, Butler help Heat beat 76ers, take 2-0 series lead

MIAMI, May 4 (UPI) -- Bam Adebayo scored a team-high 23 points and the Miami Heat made 51.3% of its shots from the field for a win over the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Wednesday in Miami.

The Heat led by as many as 18 points and never trailed in the 119-103 victory at FTX Arena. Miami made 48.3% of its 3-point attempts. The 76ers made just 8 of 30 shots from downtown.

"Our defense really carried us to the win, but we had some really great defensive plays," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters.

The Heat also outscored the 76ers 52-19 off the bench. Victor Oladipo and Tyler Herro paced the Heat bench with 19 and 18 points, respectively.

"I just go in there and play to the best of my ability," Oladipo said. "I can't really control anything else, but my mentality and what I bring to the game."

The 76ers dominated in the paint early on, but the Heat's shooters kept pace. Miami ended the first quarter with seven unanswered points to take a 31-24 edge into the second.

The Heat pushed its lead to 10 midway through the second. Miami used great ball movement and spacing to propel an 8-2 run to push its lead to 14 five minutes before halftime.

Herro paced the effort with 16 first-half points. The Heat led 60-52 at the break.

The Heat outscored the 76ers 31-28 in the third -- led by 12 points from Jimmy Butler -- to take a 91-80 lead into the fourth.

Miami used an 11-2 run in the fourth to push its lead to 18 points with 5:32 remaining. They held onto the large advantage down the stretch as the 76ers' poor shooting night continued.

Butler totaled 22 points, 12 assists and six rebounds in the victory.

76ers guard Tyrese Maxey scored 23 of his game-high 34 points in the second half of the loss. Tobias Harris and James Harden totaled 21 and 20 points, respectively, for the 76ers.

The 76ers host the Heat in Game 3 at 7 p.m. EDT Friday at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Game 4 will tip off at 8 p.m. Sunday in Philadelphia. The series will return to Miami for Game 5, if it is necessary.