MIAMI – As Miami Heat captain Bam Adebayo is chasing Udonis Haslem's record for the most rebounds in the team's history, Tuesday marked a milestone in that chase. The Heat's star in Adebayo showcased his defensive prowess in the 124-98 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night, as he sent a message to Haslem about getting close to his record.

While Haslem still holds the record for most rebounds with 5,791, his defensive rebounds mark of 4,176 has been broken by Adebayo, who now totals 4,180 after grabbing eight of them on Tuesday. Adebayo and Haslem have a close relationship off the court, but also a friendly rivalry due to the star on pace to break the full record sooner rather than later, with the 28-year-old at 235 boards away.

“I'm on the way. He knows it, that gap is getting closer and closer,” Adebayo said to ClutchPoints after scoring a game-high 23 points with nine rebounds. “Being part of this organization, the guys ahead of me, records are meant to be broken, but they want you to earn them. And obviously, I'm earning it every game, and at some point, it's gonna happen.”

Besides breaking records, Heat's Bam Adebayo also playing elite defense

Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) looks on against the Brooklyn Nets during the third quarter at Kaseya Center.
Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Adebayo is also displaying how he's one of the league's best defensive players, as he led the NBA in February in defensive rating (99.7). After the rare occurrence of not making the NBA All-Defensive team last season, he believes people could be “tired of seeing consistency.”

“But also the criteria has shifted as I’ve gotten older in this league,” Adebayo said after also tying a career-high six steals and recording a team-high +22 on the floor on Tuesday. “You got guys making it that aren’t making the playoffs, they’re bottom of the league records…I don't know if it's just voter fatigue, but I'm always going to be first-team on defense. That'll never change, no matter what the voters say. My peers know it.”

These types of outings from Adebayo are especially needed at this point of the season, with the team trying to get out of eighth seed and play-in tournament purgatory like they've been the last three seasons. Adebayo would stress after the win over the Nets that “we can't have any more slip-ups.”

“We've had enough in the first half of the season, and you have to hold each other to a higher standard and accountability,” Adebayo said. “And that gets uncomfortable sometimes, because you feel like you don't want to go too far, but in that sense, man, we've passed that stage, and we're trying to do something special, and that's going to take all of us, and we're going to have to hold each other accountable in some intense situations.”

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Heat's Erik Spoelstra on Bam Adebayo chasing Udonis Haslem's record

With the Heat facing teams that could be accused of tanking, they handled business on Tuesday night against the now 15-46 Nets, led by an anchoring performance from Adebayo. As long-time teammate Tyler Herro would speak about Adebayo having one of his better defensive seasons, another who has watched the big man closely is head coach Erik Spoelstra.

Aside from basketball, Spoelstra would talk about the “quality human being” that Adebayo is, earning his chance to break Haslem's record, a former player who has been a flag-bearer for the franchise.

“I know he's chasing him, so I'm sure he's going to be talking some smack to him. He wants to get the full rebound record, but it's a testament to his consistency, and we love to see it,” Spoelstra said. “That's what records are there for, you know, to be broken, especially when it's quality people that are breaking records. And Bam is a quality human being. And you know UD will eventually love it when BAM does eventually pass him.”

“But he sets the tone in that first quarter,” Spoelstra continued. “I think he had four steals; he had a couple blocks in the first half, really anchoring our defense. And these are two very good defensive games back to back. Our defense has been good all year, but we needed to really step up to a high level to finish up this regular season.”

At any rate, Adebayo and Miami look to keep it going as they once again face Brooklyn on Thursday with the team having a 33-29 record, putting them eighth in the East, though they are a half-game back from the sixth-seed Philadelphia 76ers.