Suns outshine Doncic’s heroics, Heat scorch Sixers

MIAMI: Deandre Ayton scored 25 points as top-seeded Phoenix defeated Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks on Monday, while Miami took advantage of Joel Embiid’s absence to defeat Philadelphia in the NBA playoffs.

Doncic led the scoring with a game-high 45 points, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Phoenix from claiming a 121-114 straight win in Game 1 of the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series.

Ayton shot 12 of 20 from the field for Phoenix, while Devin Booker added offensive oomph with 23 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

Chris Paul contributed 19 points and Cameron Johnson added 17 off the bench as six Suns players posted total points in double figures.

Phoenix raced out of the blocks to lead by 10 late in the first quarter and took a 69-56 lead at the interval.

They led by as many as 21 points in the fourth quarter before a furious late attack led by Doncic brought Dallas within five points in the closing seconds.

However, the Mavs’ rally ultimately fell short, leaving Phoenix 1-0 before Game 2 on Wednesday.

– Herro drives Heat -Tyler Herro scored 25 points off the bench as the Miami Heat swept the exhausted Philadelphia 76ers 106-92 in their Eastern Conference series opener.

Herro led a balanced offensive effort as top-seeded Miami pulled away after trailing at halftime to go 1-0 up in the best-of-seven semifinal series.

Five Miami players finished with double-digit points as the exhausted Sixers faded from contention after a gutsy first-half display that left the fourth seeds ahead 51-50 at halftime.

Philadelphia’s preparations were shaken Friday after the confirmation that star big man Embiid had suffered an orbital fracture and concussion in the Sixers’ first-round series decider against Toronto on Thursday.

Embiid’s presence was largely absent at Miami’s FTX Arena on Monday as the Heat outscored the Sixers 56-41 in the second half.

“They’re a pretty good team even without Embiid,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We were just able to organize ourselves in the second half. We did it with a little more thought and discipline, and that extra effort fired up everyone on the team.”

Herro led Miami in scoring despite starting off the bench, shooting 9-for-17 from the field, including four 3-pointers with seven assists.

“Everyone is always on deck with us, the next man mentality, no matter what,” Herro said of his contribution.

“We had to find a way to keep the offense going and guys stepped up defensively. We just want to keep playing well and keep things going.”

Bam Adebayo, meanwhile, had a double-double with 25 points and 12 rebounds, while Jimmy Butler, in top form, returned to the starting eleven after injury with 15 points, nine rebounds and three assists.

Tobias Harris led Philadelphia’s scorers with 27 points, while Tyrese Maxey added 19 and James Harden 16.

Sixers coach Doc Rivers lamented his team’s inability to stem the flow of shots from Miami. The Sixers were outrebounded 47-37, allowing Miami to uncork 13 more shots.

“We’re working to a small margin of error, so we can’t give a team an extra 13 shots on the road without Joel and think we’re going to win a game,” Rivers said.

The second game of the series takes place in Miami on Wednesday.