Miami survived a slow start to take a 1-0 lead in their NBA Eastern Conference quarter-final series against Philadelphia with a 97-89 win on Sunday.
After trailing by as many as 12 points in the first quarter, the Heat gradually assumed control of the contest and were well led by star forward Chris Bosh with a game-high 25 points, while LeBron James scored 21.
The win was set up on the back of a 35-18 second period, and although the 76ers - led by 20 points from Thaddeus Young - cut the margin to a single point late in the fourth quarter, the Heat were able to pull away again.
The win gave the Eastern Conference's second seeds a 1-0 lead in their best-of-seven series ahead of game two in Miami on Monday night.
Elsewhere, the Eastern Conference's top seeds Chicago made a great start to their series against Indiana - rallying from a 98-88 deficit in the fourth quarter to eke out a 104-99 win at home.
As has been the case for most of the season, it was Derrick Rose who led the way for the Bulls, shooting a game-high 39 points, while Tyler Hansbrough was outstanding for the Pacers with 22.
The Atlanta Hawks survived a equal career-high output of 46 points from Orlando star Dwight Howard on their way to a 103-93 win in game one of their series.
Joe Johnson scored 25 points and Jamal Crawford 23 for the Eastern Conference's fourth seeds, who are gunning for revenge over Orlando, who swept them aside 4-0 in the first round of last year's playoffs.
And Western Conference third seeds Dallas opened their account with an 89-81 win at home over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Dirk Nowitzki shot a game-high 28 points for the Mavericks and Jason Kidd scored 24 to lift Dallas to a 1-0 lead in the series, with LaMarcus Aldridge the Blazers' best with 27.