Bam Adebayo nearly lifts Heat in upset over Cavs, but 1 player dragged them down
Bam Adebayo did all he could to lift the Heat to
Down three starters, the Miami Heat went into Cleveland with the popular opinion being that they won’t be competitive. Instead, Miami gave the Cavaliers all they could handle as they were led by their captain, Bam Adebayo who had a season high 34 points. The Heat held a seven-point lead with a little over six minutes to go, but the offense dried up at the worst time. This ended up leading to a Cleveland rally and the Heat ultimately falling to the Cavaliers 112-107 Wednesday night at Rocket Arena.
Bam Adebayo did all he could to lift the Heat to victory.
Adebayo came out of the gate guns blazing and made it a point to attack and get shots up early. In the first quarter, Adebayo scored eight points, and the momentum rolled over as the game progressed, forcing the Cavaliers to send more help to guard him.
As Adebayo began to see more bodies, he displayed his patience and dissected the Cavaliers defense with his passing. A prime example is in the third quarter, Adebayo had a mismatch with Darius Garland on him. Instead of rushing into a bad shot, he waited for a second defender to come help. Once Jarrett Allen committed, Adebayo found Kevin Love for a wide-open corner three.
When it came to scoring, Adebayo provided the Heat with key relief buckets to maintain their lead in the fourth quarter. His most impressive make of the night was against Evan Mobley, as Adebayo hit a tough contested midrange over Mobley with the shot clock winding down. There was no screen set, or any action ran, Adebayo just went right at Mobley and hit a big bucket.
