MIAMI -- Bam Adebayo caught a lob for an alley-oop dunk midway through the fourth quarter, then threw a lob to Jimmy Butler for another dunk about a minute later.
Both were very easy.
Joel Embiid could complicate those plays going forward -- and the Miami Heat are heading north expecting that he might be waiting for them.
Adebayo scored 23 points, Butler had 22 points and 12 assists, and the Heat beat the Philadelphia 76ers 119-103 on Wednesday night for a 2-0 lead in the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals.
"It's always nice to win," Butler said. "We just did what we're supposed to do at home."
Victor Oladipo scored 19 points on his 30th birthday and Tyler Herro added 18 for the Heat, the East's No. 1 seed. Oladipo had 10 of those points in the fourth quarter.
Tyrese Maxey scored 34 points for Philadelphia, which got 21 from Tobias Harris and 20 from James Harden.
"We've just got to go back to the drawing board and try to figure it out," Maxey said.
A 10-0 run in the fourth turned an eight-point Miami lead into an 18-point edge, sealing the win and ensuring the Heat would hold home court before the series shifts north. Game 3 is Friday in Philadelphia.
And now, the Heat will hope history holds -- and the 76ers will hope it doesn't.
Miami has taken a 2-0 lead in 18 previous series, including the first round this season against Atlanta, and won the matchup every time. The 76ers' franchise has dropped the first two games of a matchup on 19 other occasions, never recovering to win the series.
The question going into Friday will revolve around whether Embiid could be ready for Game 3. The league's scoring champion and MVP finalist is recovering from an orbital fracture and concussion and has, not surprisingly, been big-time missed by the 76ers.
"We don't have a big man right now," Philadelphia Coach Doc Rivers lamented.
Adebayo surely isn't complaining. He was 8 for 10 from the floor and 8 for 8 from the line in Game 1; he followed that up with a 7-for-11 night from the floor on Wednesday.
But he said he's preparing as if Embiid will play Friday. And Butler, who is close with Embiid from their time together as teammates in Philadelphia, is hoping his MVP pick can play in the series.
"I want to compete against him," Butler said. "I really do."
It wasn't just the absence of Embiid, though, that hurt Philadelphia. The 76ers were awful again from three-point range, shooting 8 for 30 in Game 2. They're now 14 for 64 from deep in the series.
"When it comes down to it, you've got to make shots, especially when you're on the road against a really good team," Harden said. "It's pretty simple."
Danny Green was 1 for 10 from the floor -- the second time in his playoff career that he had that many attempts and shot that poorly in a postseason game. The other? A 1-for-12 effort for San Antonio in 2013, also in Miami, the night the Heat won their third and most recent NBA title.
The Heat aren't close to that yet. But they are two wins from the East finals.
"It's not easy to get playoff wins." Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We had some great stretches, particularly defensively. We had some really good stretches offensively. ... Our defense really carried us to the win, but we had some really timely offensive plays."
SUNS 129, MAVERICKS 109
PHOENIX -- Chris Paul scored 28 points, including 14 in another spectacular fourth quarter, to lead Phoenix over Dallas for a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.
Paul -- a 12-time All-Star who turns 37 years old on Friday -- almost single-handedly turned a tight game into a comfortable victory, the Suns' 11th win in a row against the Mavericks counting regular-season games.
The Mavs led 60-58 at halftime but the Suns quickly recaptured the lead after Devin Booker hit back-to-back three-pointers early in the third. The Suns took an 89-83 advantage going into the final quarter and it looked like a tough fight was coming.
But that's about the time Paul decided the game was his to control, hitting six shots in a row on everything from three-pointers to mid-range jumpers to layups. The feisty Mavericks finally didn't have an answer. Booker hit a pair of three-pointers midway through the fourth to give the Suns a 114-95 lead.
Booker led the Suns with 30 points on 11-of-19 shooting, including 5 of 8 from three-point range. The Suns shot 64.5% overall and made 52% of their three-pointers.
Game 3 is on Friday in Dallas.
At a glance
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES
Miami 119, Philadelphia 103
Miami leads series 2-0.
Dallas at Phoenix, (n)
Phoenix leads series 1-0.
FRIDAY’S GAMES
All times Central
Miami at Philadelphia, 6 p.m.
Phoenix at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) aims to score as Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris (12) defends during the first half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series, Wednesday, May 4, 2022, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris (12) dribbles around Miami Heat forward P.J. Tucker (17) during the first half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series, Wednesday, May 4, 2022, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
NBA referee Tom Washington listens to Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers during the first half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series, Wednesday, May 4, 2022, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat puts up a shot during the Heat’s victory over the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 2 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals Wednesday night in Miami. Butler finished with 22 points, 12 assists and 6 rebounds as the Heat took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 series. (AP/Marta Lavandier)