On May 3, Beijing time, the NBA playoffs continued to unfold, and the semifinals between the 76ers and the Heat officially began. Embiid and Lowry were absent from both teams, and the 76ers were passive at the beginning of the game, and the Heat established a 14-point lead at one point. But then the 76ers fought back, and with Harden's throw before halftime, the 76ers finished the 51-50 deficit at halftime.
In this campaign, both teams have injury troubles, with 76ers core Embiid absent due to injury, Jordan Jr. replacing him as the starter, and Harden, Maxi, Green and Harris. On the Heat side, Lowry was also absent due to injury, with Vincent replacing the starter, and the other four were Butler, Strus, Tucker and Adebayor.
After the game began, the Heat took the lead into the rhythm of the game, taking the initiative on the court as soon as they came up, and with the 76ers missing several offensive attempts, they quickly took an 18-6 lead, and there was a one-sided situation. But then Harden hit the outside, and then Sebel snatched and counterattacked, the 76ers successfully narrowed the point difference, but the Heat still occupied the initiative after adjustment, and the Heat led the 76ers 30-22 after the first quarter.
At the beginning of the second quarter, the Heat took the lead in the state, Hiro scored 5 points in a row, Adebayor rushed to the basket to win, and the 76ers offense still did not enter the rhythm. After the timeout adjustment, the 76ers slowly entered the rhythm, Harden hit a three-point shot from the outside, then counter-attacked the layup, Maxi broke through and scored, and the 76ers successfully narrowed the point gap. In the final moments, the Heat suddenly fell into a scoring drought, and in the last 2 minutes or so, the 76ers successfully countered the score with a wave of 8-0 small offensive, and led the Heat 51-50 at halftime.
After the first half, the 76ers played well, the three scored in double figures, Harden 12 points and 6 rebounds, Harris 14 points, Maxi 10 points, successfully reversed the score in the second quarter. In the first half, the referee's blow penalty also caused a hot discussion, in which Sebel blocked Hiero's three-pointer behind him, and there was no physical contact with Hiro, but the referee blew a three-point foul; back to Harden's three-point shot, was hit by Adebayo's wrist, an obvious shooting foul, the referee ignored.