Heat news: Bam Adebayo reveals special halftime inspiration in Game 2 win over Celtics

Bam Adebayo and the Miami Heat struggled in the first half of Game 2 against the Boston Celtics, but thinking about his mom at halftime inspired him.

Bam Adebayo had another great outing for the Miami Heat on Thursday, and this was thanks in large part to an amazing second-half surge from the All-Star big man. In his postgame interview, Adebayo revealed exactly where he drew inspiration from after a lackluster first-half showing.

According to Adebayo, he always holds his mother, Marilyn Blount, close to his heart:

“That first half wasn’t me and I had to reboot myself, man,” Adebayo said, via Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. “So, you ask yourself: Where do you come from and what’s your why? What’s your why? And for me, that’s my mom.”

Adebayo picked up the slack after halftime (also with some urging from Erik Spoelstra), helping the Heat come back from 17 points behind. The 6-foot-9 center led the way for Miami, as they outscored Boston 37-17 in the third quarter alone. He eventually finished with 21 points on 10-of-16 shooting, 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and a block in 35 minutes of action.

Adebayo had more to say about how his mom inspires him:

“That competitive nature comes out when I feel like I’m playing bad and when things aren’t going right,” Adebayo said. “I think about how she fought through struggle. I feel like she was in the gym tonight. It was like I could hear her in my ear. I watched her get knocked down and get back up so many times. You see that for 18 years straight, you take that load on and feel that responsibility. And my responsibility is to provide for my mom, and the best way to make sure I can do that is to help us win.”

Adebayo also said that watching his mom built his “competitive nature” and taught him “that the strong survive.” He and Miami have certainly been strong in big moments throughout these playoffs.

The Heat are now 2-0 up in the series and are in prime position to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in six years. Their next step toward this goal comes in the form of a Game 3 mathcup against the Celtics on Saturday. A win there virtually guarantees a place in the Finals for this amazing Heat team.