Bam Adebayo’s 38-point effort fuels Heat past Wizards

Nov 26, 2022 - 5:09 AM

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Bam Adebayo’s dominant 38-point effort on Friday night fueled the Miami Heat’s 110-107 win over the Washington Wizards, capping off the home-home baseball series with Washington. The Heat have now won two consecutive games for the first time in nearly two weeks, and extend their home winning streak to five straight.

Adebayo, who had 16 points in the second half and 12 in the final frame, led all scorers on 15-of-22 shooting, adding 12 rebounds plus three assists. Miami had three other double figure scorers while Washington had three.

Adebayo’s 38 points marked a season-high and the second 30-point game he had this season, the only other being on Nov. 14 when he had 30 against the Phoenix Suns. The 6-foot-9 stalwart has now recorded nine double-doubles this season, including eight over the last 10 games.

Caleb Martin provided huge minutes for the Heat yet again, adding 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting with a pair of triples. His two free throws along with his with one-on-one defense on Bradley Beal helped seal the Heat’s victory.

Kyle Lowry had 13 points, seven rebounds and eight assists in 39 minutes while Tyler Herro had 11 points with 10 assists, despite his lack of concrete decision-making throughout the game.

Both Kyle Kuzma and Bradley Beal, who had 20 second-half points, posted 28 points apiece, which led Washington. Kristaps Porzingis had 18 points on 7-of-18 shooting with seven boards and a pair of blocks in his 36 minutes.

Washington had arguably its best opening quarter of the season, while Miami had their worst, despite Adebayo piling on 18 of the Heat’s 28 points. Washington connected on 15 of its 21 first-quarter attempts, giving them the 38-28 lead after one. But a late second-quarter push by Martin, Adebayo, Lowry, Haywood Highsmith and Jamal Cain got the Heat back in the race, cutting it to 59-56 heading into halftime.

The contest was tied at 85 after three quarters without any lead extending beyond six at any point in the quarter. Washington led for a majority of it, but Herro’s ridiculous off-balance corner triple gave Miami the lead 99-98. Beal’s layup gave Washington the one-point advantage — 105-104 — with 2:24 left, but Adebayo, Lowry and Martin spearheaded the Heat down the stretch en-route to their ninth victory of the season.

Miami now encounters a tough upcoming road stretch, starting with the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday. They then face the Boston Celtics twice capped off by a road test against the Memphis Grizzlies. It’s 1-7 in road play this season, and despite the lack of bodies, could the Heat get back on track?

Only time will tell.