Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo suffered an injury scare during the team's big win over the Utah Jazz as he collided with teammate Duncan Robinson during a scramble for the basketball which made him go to the locker room. The big-man for Miami spoke to the media after the game not only to give an assessment on the team's performance, but how he is feeling after the collision.
It would be a quick trip to the locker room as Adebayo would check back into the game and even finished the contest. He said to the media that plays like that happen and added a humorous tone when saying that “Duncan set me up.”
“Duncan set me up,” Adebayo said with a smile. “Got blindsided, but those plays happen. I went to the back, got some treatment, and finished the game.”
Adebayo unable to give full details on injury scare during the game
When later asked what exactly he got treated, Adebayo simple responded with “my body.” When asked further of what exact body part got the treatment, he said “can't tell you that, not yet.”
While there is some secrecy around exactly what injury Adebayo sustained, it does not appear to be serious as he came back in and finished the game as said before. He would have a huge game for Miami despite the scare as he scored 23 points on an efficient 10 for 15 shooting, collected seven rebounds, and recorded three assists.
Bumps and bruises for the Heat besides Adebayo
Adebayo wasn't the only player who got bumps and bruises as forward Caleb Martin was accidentally hit by star Jimmy Butler in the mouth. It is not meant to be serious or require a long absence, but Martin had to have six stitches and could not speak to the media afterwards.
However, Butler did speak to the media and told his side of the story as he describe the series of events in the “PG 13 way. The Heat star who scored a season-high 37 points said that he did not know who got the blow of his swing, but knew they were “leaking” and stopped himself before saying he wished it was not someone on his team who got the hit.
“The PG 13 way, I got him good. And when I hit him I didn't know it was him,” Butler said. “But whoever I hit, I knew was leaking and needed stitches because I had hit him smooth on. I just wish it was…let me not say, they will get me, they will try to get me.”
Either way, Martin had a huge game as he scored 18 points which included making four of his six attempts from three-point range. He would also have three blocks, most of them on a chase down as Adebayo loved to see the effort on the defensive end of the ball.
“He hit big shots in those moments of truth, but for me it is on the defensive side. Him being active, him getting those chase down blocks where you think there is no chance, but you see Caleb flying to get them,” Adebayo said. “Those are the plays that help us win, those little plays might go unnoticed, but for us, those are winning plays.”
Heat feels they can conquer any team with Adebayo's “competitive spirit”
While it was a team collective effort to put away the Jazz, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra told the media that Butler and Adebayo played with “competitive spirit” in the second half. He added on that the team believes that if both are on their A-game, “we can conquer whatever we need to conquer.”
“Bam and Jimmy really took off from there. You know, when Bam and Jimmy you know play with that competitive spirit and are connected from a competitive standpoint, our guys feel like we can beat anyone, that we can conquer whatever we need to conquer,” Spoelstra said. “And they were at their best on both ends of the court. Caleb has a messed up hand, knocked in the mouth, every play he makes is just a collision here, a collision there. He inspires everybody in our locker room, and he's just a gamer. He just makes big plays at the right times. That inspires other guys to do the same.”
The Heat are 34-26 on the season which puts them sixth in the Eastern Conference. They look to win two straight as their next game is Tuesday against the Detroit Pistons.
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