Bam Adebayo came into this season hoping for more chances. He was given those chances by the Miami Heat, who are delighted with the results.
Jimmy Butler contributed 25, and Miami’s All-Star center equaled his season high with 38 points as the Heat defeated the Indiana Pacers 116-111 on Wednesday night to end a two-game losing streak.
Adebayo made 12 of 16 field goal attempts and 14 of 14 foul shots.
Erik Spoelstra, the Heat’s coach, noted, “Bam, obviously, was incredibly good on both sides of the court.”
For the Heat, who ended a two-game losing streak, Gabe Vincent scored 17 points, Caleb Martin finished with 12 and 11 rebounds, and Tyler Herro scored 15.
Indiana, which has dropped 13 of its last 15 games, was led by Buddy Hield’s 29 points. TJ McConnell scored 18 points, while Myles Turner scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
Tyrese Haliburton led the Pacers with ten assists, but the Heat defense, which Butler led, limited him to just 11 points, 32 fewer than his total from a victory at Miami on December 23. Indiana was within three points after his 3-pointer with 10.5 seconds left, but Adebayo secured the win with free throws.
According to Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, “Miami has earned its reputation as a competitive team through hard work, a squad that always answers to prior setbacks.”
The four-game regular-season series between the Heat and Pacers were split. This one went to the conclusion, precisely like the prior three. Heat 410, Pacers 405, compared to a combined score of Pacers 294 and Heat 294 going into Wednesday. This season, no game has been decided by more than five points.
Adebayo’s 10th 30-point performance of the year matched the sum of all Heat players put together (Butler has 5, Herro has 4, and Max Strus has 1).
Butler remarked, “He’s discovered a fantastic balance.” “You must continue to feed the person you have the hot hand with. Most of the time, it’s Bam. Sometimes you have to ride the wave.
Since LeBron James, who is currently the NBA’s career scoring leader, had 31 such games for Miami in 2013–14, Only six Heat players had at least ten sets of 30 or more in the same season, and he is one of them.
Adebayo claimed, “The work speaks for itself.”