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

But for the 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 late 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.

“You could see it from the tip,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Guys were making extraordinary efforts, multiple efforts. And that went all the way through to the fourth quarter.”

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

“It was good to see us have that response,” Spoelstra said, “and on the second night of a back-to-back. That resolve showed through.”

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

“We just really needed to get this win,” Adebayo said. “We know what at stake.”

Five Degrees of Heat from Monday night’s game:

1. 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.

Forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. said the team’s leaders stepped up at halftime.

“It was one of our best halftimes ever,” he said. Like I want to say since I’ve been here, at least. Tyler and Bam really brought us together during that time.”

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.

“That’s the way Tyler’s been his whole time here,” Spoelstra said. “Regardless of what he’s done in the first three and a half quarters, you know when you get to the final six minutes, he’s proven time and time again that he’s been able to make big threes, big shots, and he did that.”

2. 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 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 Jakucionis, 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 Jaquez, who closed with 14 points.

“It was just a great overall win,” Jaquez said. “I think it might have been our best one of the year.”

With the words of Adebayo and Herro resonating.

“Knowing that we’ve got six games left, that says it right there,” Adebayo said of what remains of the Heat regular season. “Obviously me and (Herro) need to be more vocal in these next six, but just understanding it’s going to take that type of will.”

3. 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.

“I warned Bam that it was probably going to be a 40-minute game tonight,” Spoelstra said, with Adebayo going 41:58, “and he’s in tremendous physical condition right now, and his competitive will set the tone, for sure.”

4. 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.

“The game plan was really just to come out and play harder,” Herro said, “obviously play smart, but play harder than them, outwork them, and we did that.”

5. 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.

What Spoelstra would like to see is more of the same.

“Tonight,” Spoelstra said, “everybody was able just to focus on the task at hand, and it was all the multiple efforts that we needed.”