MIAMI – For those insistent on postseason math, yes, the head-to-head season-series tiebreaker was at stake in this one.

But for the Miami Heat this was about more than play-in math. This was about breaking out of a brutal late-season funk that included a road loss a night earlier to the NBA-worst Indiana Pacers.

So against the Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George, the Heat fought the good fight on Monday night at Kaseya Center, with only one win in their previous eight.

And this time, enough fight was there, sparked by a pair of last 3-pointers from Tyler Herro, in what turned into a 119-109 desperately needed victory after losing seven of their previous eight.

All but assured a fourth consecutive trip to the play-in round (they have clinched at least that much), the Heat showed the type of fight needed at that level of competition.

Herro led the Heat with 30 points, supported by 23 points and 14 from Bam Adebayo and 20 points from Pelle Larsson.

Embiid led the 76ers with 26 points, with Maxey scoring 23 and George 19.

Five degrees of Heat from Monday night’s game:

— Game flow: The Heat went up 13 early and then took a 38-34 lead into the second period, with the 76ers pushing back to a 61-58 halftime edge.

The Heat shot 1 of 11 on 3-pointers in the second period, which contributed significantly to scoring only 20 in the quarter.

From there, the Heat opened the third period on a 19-4 run, getting into the bonus early in the quarter. But after the Heat went up 15, the 76ers had their deficit down to 91-87 entering the fourth.

Later, it was tied 101-101 with 6:04 to play.

The 76ers then went up six, before Herro, 1 of 8 on 3-pointers to that stage, converted two in a row for a 111-107 Heat.

— Rotation alteration: With Norman Powell missing a second consecutive game due to an upper-respiratory illness, the Heat again opened with a lineup of Adebayo, Herro, Larsson, Andrew Wiggins and Davion Mitchell.

But that’s when coach Erik Spoelstra altered his approach, not only playing Kel’el Ware as his first reserve off the bench, but then turning to Dru Smith, who had been held out the previous four games.

That not only had Smith playing ahead of rookie Kasparas Jakucionis, but Simone Fontecchio ahead of Jakcucionis, as well.

By the end, though, even on the second night of the back-to-back set, Spoelstra reduced his approach to essentially a six-man rotation of the five starters and Jaime Jaquez Jr., who closed with 14 points.

— Doing it all: Adebayo made his presence felt on both ends, from anchoring the zone, taking the challenge on Embiid when needed, bullying his way to the foul line, facilitating and rebounding.

And doing it all efficiently, at one point in the third quarter with 19 points on 4-of-5 shooting.

Along the way, Adebayo recorded his 200th assist of the season.

He closed 12 of 13 from the line, with six assists.

— Herro ball: Again the focus of the perimeter offense with Powell out, Herro was up to 18 points entering the fourth, a night after scoring 31 in Indiana.

That total could have been higher if not for 1 of 7 3-point shooting by Herro over the opening three periods, 6 of 10 on his other shots.

But when the shots were needed, he came through, closing 12 of 24 from the field.

— Celtics next: The three-game homestand continues Wednesday against the Boston Celtics, who figure to have both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown available.

Tatum, recovered from last year’s Achilles tear, has yet to play against the Heat this season.

The Celtics lead the four-game season series 3-0, having overcome 19- and 22-point deficits in two of those games.

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