The Miami Heat defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in a thriller Monday night, 108-107, and the star player was big-man Bam Adebayo. He did it all as he recorded his sixth career regular-season triple-double (seven total) as he scored 22 points, collected a staggering 20 rebounds, and dished out 10 assists.
Adebayo spoke after the game to the media and said that it was important to not only play like that against a tough team in the Lakers, but also for the schedule ahead. In the next 10 games, the Heat will be at home only once.
“I mean, I definitely wanted to end the home-stand with a W, didn't think I'd leave it with a triple double, but it came organically,” Adebayo said. “Trusting my shots, being confident, and my teammates were making plays and getting open and I was delivering the ball.”
Everybody seems to know Adebayo's defensive ability which he put on full display against Anthony Davis and the rest of the Lakers, but he showed once again how much of a play-maker he can be. With the NBA full of do-it-all big-men, Adebayo is comfortably among them.
Erik Spoelstra with high praise on Adebayo
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said that the triple-double is outstanding, but it even goes beyond the stat-sheet. He emphasized that he's very active in huddles trying to motivate the team.
“He really willed us and in those moments of truth he was he was the voice in the huddles. He was holding everybody to a higher standard, demanding more, particularly on the defensive end of the floor,” Spoelstra said. “And that's leadership, not just the voice, but doing it with all the big muscles stuff. 20 on the glass I don't know how many people have done a 20-rebound triple double. I mean, that's just tremendous, that's why he's he's the heartbeat.”
His 20-point, 20-rebound triple-double is the first one in franchise history and the first 20/20 game for a player on Miami since Hassan Whiteside did it back in Dec. 2018. An even crazier statistic is that Adebayo is the fifth player ever to have 20 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists, two steals, and two blocks. The only other players are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (did it twice), Chris Webber, DeMarcus Cousins, and Nikola Jokic who did it most recently in March of 2023.
Jimmy Butler not surprised at Adebayo's performance
Heat star teammate Jimmy Butler, who scored a team-high 28 points, said that this is business as usual for Adebayo. He stressed that other games might not show a triple-double, but he's always performing on a high-level.
“I mean, he is always playing like that, it just doesn't always look like 22, 20, and 10,” Butler said about Adebayo. “Whatever it takes to win and I think we need everyone else's points, getting those rebounds and every assist. It's not going to look like that every night, but when it does, and we get a win I think everybody's happy.”
Spoelstra says team still has to work on struggles
Now with the game against the Lakers in the rear-view mirror, the team will look back on the tape as there were still some flaws late in the game. While they were red-hot through the first three quarters, the Heat once again spiraled as they had 18 points and nine turnovers in the fourth quarter. Spoelstra said that they'll fix what the problem is, but he won't downplay the win.
“We'll continue to figure this out. It's much better to figure it out when you get a win, there are a lot more good things in this game than negatives,” Spoelstra said. “I'm not going to be a downer about this one, it's a good win and obviously, we have to clean up some of the things that is what the decision making, you know, at the end, I thought we got organized and got into the right stuff. You just have to continue to make the right reads. But the second half was just much better on both ends of the court.”
The Heat will now go on another tough road stretch as the next four games will not be played in Miami as their next opponent is the Memphis Grizzlies on Nov. 8. The last time the Heat went on a four-game away trip, they lost every single contest.
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