By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Miami Heat’s suffocating defense proved to be too much for the Philadelphia 76ers and helped them go up 2-0 in their Eastern Conference semifinals showdown, 119-103, while Chris Paul’s magical fourth quarter helped the Phoenix Suns fend off Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks, 129-109.
Joel Embiid’s two-game absence for Philadelphia haunted them on the road and didn’t have any answers to Miami’s patient and strong defensive schemes.
Tyrese Maxey tried to play hero ball for Philadelphia and dropped 34 points and three rebounds but Miami’s fourth-quarter adjustments became the edge that helped them seal the deal.
Miami’s head coach Erik Spoelstra decided to play zone defense at the start of the fourth and completely negated Philadelphia’s three-point shooting which helped them inch close in the first three quarters.
Bam Adebayo was once again terrific and capitalized on Embiid’s absence after finishing the game with 23 points, nine rebounds, and three assists.
Aside from their well-executed zone defense, Miami pounded the boards leading to second-chance points which helped them establish a 16-point lead in the crucial stretch of the final canto.
Tobias Harris tried his best to will Philadelphia in the last three minutes after scoring nine-straight points but Jimmy Butler and company iced the game and will head to the road holding a 2-0 series lead.
Meanwhile, in the Western Conference, Chris Paul once again took over in the final 12 minutes of the game and helped the Phoenix Suns sweep the first two games against the Dallas Mavericks.
Dallas had a decent start in the first half and eventually grabbed the early lead after Luka Doncic got hot in the second quarter.
It was also a positive sight to see for head coach Jason Kidd and the Mavericks as their bench duo of Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans helped maintain their lead in the second quarter after shooting well from distance.
However, Dallas would only taste the lead briefly as Devin Booker and Mikal Bridges led a third-quarter frenzy for Phoenix.
Phoenix’s crisp ball movement made it hard for Dallas to keep up which always opened the left and right corner three points for head coach Monty Williams.
Paul then took matters into his own hands in the closing minutes of the game and scored 14 straight points.
What was once a three-point game at the start of the fourth quarter turned into a blowout win for Phoenix as Booker and the rest of the guys continued to pour it on in the remaining four minutes of the game.
Phoenix will travel to Dallas and will look to grab a 3-0 lead against the Mavericks. Miami will also head to the road with Embiid reportedly coming back for the 76ers.
