MIAMI — The Miami Heat wasted two incredible performances from star Jimmy Butler in a pair of losses in Games 3 and 4. But the Heat didn’t need another epic night from Butler in Game 5.
Using its usual formula of balanced scoring and elite defense, the Heat came away with a much-needed 120-85 blowout win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday at FTX Arena. Miami now holds a 3-2 series lead and is just one away from punching its ticket to the Eastern Conference finals for the second time in the last three seasons.
Even with starting point guard Kyle Lowry sidelined again by a strained left hamstring, seven Heat players finished with double-digit points, including the entire starting lineup.
Butler, who averaged 36.5 points on 59.5 percent shooting from the field in Games 3 and 4 in Philadelphia, didn’t cross the 30-point threshold on Tuesday. But he was still excellent with 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field, nine rebounds and six assists.
Max Strus turned in his best performance of the series for the Heat with 19 points on 4-of-10 shooting from deep and 10 rebounds.
Bam Adebayo contributed 12 points, six rebounds and stellar defense on 76ers All-Star center Joel Embiid.
With Adebayo anchoring the unit, the Heat’s defense turned out to be the star of the night. The 76ers were limited to 85 points on 36.5 percent shooting from the field and 9-of-32 (28.1 percent) shooting on threes.
There was a scary moment for the 76ers and Embid in the middle of their loss. Embiid, who is playing with a protective mask after suffering a right orbital fracture in the first round of the playoffs, went down to the ground in obvious pain after being hit in the face by a loose ball with around six minutes left in the second quarter but he was able remain in the game.
Embiid finished with 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting, five rebounds and two assists.
76ers star guard James Harden, who scored 31 points in Game 4, was held to 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the field on Tuesday.
The Heat was the better team on Tuesday from the start, outscoring the 76ers by 12 points in a dominant opening period. Miami bounced back from its shooting woes in Games 3 and 4 right away, shooting 50 percent from the field and 5 of 11 (45.5 percent) on threes in the first quarter.
The second quarter wasn’t much better for the 76ers, as the Heat extended its lead to 18 points in the period. Philadelphia was able to make a small run late in the quarter to trim the deficit to 12 entering halftime.
But the 76ers were never able to claw their way back into the game in the second half, as the Heat was able sustain a high level of play throughout the game. Miami pushed its lead to as many as 20 points in the third quarter and 37 points in the fourth quarter.
The Heat pulled ahead with 7:28 left in the first quarter and led the rest of the way on Tuesday.
It was the kind of night the Heat needed after two straight losses in Philadelphia in Games 3 and 4. Things went so well that rapper and producer DJ Khaled, an avid Heat fan who often sits courtside at FTX Arena, gave Heat coach Erik Spoelstra a shoulder rub that drew a loud cheer from the crowd during a stoppage in play in the third quarter.
With Lowry out, the Heat made the most of its quality depth in Game 5. Spoelstra used a 10-man rotation that included a bench rotation of Tyler Herro, Dewayne Dedmon, Victor Oladipo, Duncan Robinson and Caleb Martin.
Robinson had logged a total of only 55 seconds of playing time through the first four games of the second-round series. He re-joined the Heat’s rotation to a loud ovation when he first entered Tuesday’s game with five seconds left in the first quarter, scoring four points and making one of his three three-point attempts in 13 minutes off the bench.
Gabe Vincent, who started in place of the injured Lowry, finished with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field, five rebounds and two assists. It marked the first game that Lowry, who sat out four games earlier in the playoffs because of a strained left hamstring, has missed after re-aggravating the injury in Sunday’s Game 4.
With Tuesday’s important win, the Heat earned two opportunities to close out the 76ers. The Heat’s first chance will be in Game 6 on Thursday in Philadelphia.
