MIAMI — Erik Spoelstra had a very clear message to those who didn’t like how the final minutes of Bam Adebayo’s 83-point game played out.
Put simply, the Miami Heat coach doesn’t care.
“I apologize to absolutely no one,” Spoelstra said Thursday. “Period.”
Adebayo’s 83-point game — now the No. 2 single-game total in NBA history, 17 behind Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 and two ahead of Kobe Bryant’s 81 — was one unlike any other. The Heat center took 43 shots in a 150-129 win Tuesday over the Washington Wizards, made an NBA-record 36 free throws and had an NBA-record 43 tries from the foul line.
And the last few minutes were a circus, with the Wizards as times quadruple-teaming Adebayo — who was still getting the ball — and the Heat fouling Washington players on four occasions in the final moments to extend the game and get their center more opportunities to score.
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Adebayo said he didn’t see a double-team from the Wizards until the fourth quarter, when he already was up to 70 points.
His takeaway: Blame the Wizards for him getting on the roll of a lifetime.
“I’ve got 70 with, what, nine minutes left to go in the game? You think I’m not going for it? … Who would be like, ‘You know, Coach, just take me out.’ Yeah, right,” Adebayo said. “You can’t be mad at that. If you are mad, I don’t care. Because a lot of people, if they did play, they never had a chance to get that close to chasing greatness. And if you get that close to chasing greatness, that’s the point of chasing it — so you can surpass it.”
Adebayo settled for 62 fewer points Thursday night, when he scored 21 to help the Heat defeat the Milwaukee Bucks 112-105 for their seventh consecutive win. His stat line: 6-for-20 from the field, 9-for-13 from the foul line and 0-for-5 from 3-point range in 35 minutes.
And he was exhausted, as would be expected.
“To be able to move onto the next game, get the win and figure it out in a different way … it wasn’t 83 tonight. It was 21,” Adebayo said, describing the 48 hours between Tuesday’s game and Thursday’s game as an emotional roller coaster. “And if anybody’s upset, I don’t care.”
Lost in the hubbub about the final minutes of Adebayo’s 83-point game, Spoelstra insisted, is this: Adebayo had 31 points in the first quarter, 43 by halftime, 62 through three quarters, 70 with 9:05 left and 77 with 3:26 remaining. The first instance of Miami fouling to get the ball back for Adebayo was with 1:40 left.
“There was a moment, and when there’s a moment in time like that, it’s carpe diem,” Spoelstra said, using the Latin term for “seize the day.” “You have to go for it, and that was just thrilling. And I’m honored that we were all able to be a part of it.”
A handful of coaches around the NBA, including the LA Clippers’ Tyronn Lue and the Denver Nuggets’ David Adelman, have indicated they had no problem with the Heat using the final minutes to help add to what was already an enormous point total.
Adelman said Adebayo is as good of a professional as there is in the league, and to take a night “and go a little bit crazy” was entertaining.
“He made the extra pass in the fourth quarter when he had 60. He blocked a shot. He was still playing the game,” Adelman said. “When you get to 70, I’m sorry, man, like all bets are off. … I thought it was really cool.”
Wizards coach Brian Keefe didn’t seem thrilled Tuesday with how the last few minutes went. On Thursday in Orlando, before his team played the Magic, Keefe didn’t reminisce.
“We’re focused on today,” Keefe said.
Spoelstra said he spoke with Adebayo before the game about a need to have some urgency. The Heat played with several of their top players — Norman Powell, Tyler Herro, Andrew Wiggins and Kel’el Ware among them — out of that game because of injuries.
“It’s a Tuesday night game against a team where they’re not playing for anything, where their organization is trying to lose,” Spoelstra said. “We’ve already lost a game in that kind of situation. … I spoke to Bam about I want, as our best player and team captain, for him to be locked in and ready. And, he sure was.”
He was referring to how the Heat lost a game to Utah last month, a matchup in which the Jazz — who keep their first-round pick this year if it’s in the top eight of the draft — held out some of their top players in the fourth quarter and won anyway.
“I’ve seen people say you’ve got to be a purist. I’m a Darwinist in this league,” Spoelstra said. “Really, you can do anything you want in this game. You can approach it however you want. … There’s nothing wrong with what they’re doing. If you can tank and get a great draft pick, I don’t care. You could do anything in this league. You can approach it however you want.”
Spoelstra acknowledged that leaving Adebayo in toward the end of a decided game — Adebayo checked out for good with 1:08 left — was unusual. He also said memorable moments are “what our fans want to see” and that “a really magical night just appeared out of nowhere.”
In his mind, that doesn’t merit any apologies.
“It doesn’t take away anything from our organization, how we feel about Bam, how special that night was,” Spoelstra said. “Our fan base is electrified by this moment.”
And so was the coach, who made clear that he’ll do anything for Adebayo.
The Heat were routed at home by a bad Sacramento team on Dec. 6, one day before Spoelstra played host to his annual 5K run to benefit Nicklaus Children’s Hospital. The run was starting in the wee hours of a Sunday morning. Adebayo had only nine points in the loss to the Kings, and the Heat were sliding.
Without being asked, Adebayo showed up to help that morning. Spoelstra was blown away by the gesture.
“He was there, not to run, just to support,” Spoelstra said. “Just to support and let people know that he was supporting this cause. That says enough about him as a human being. That’s why I’ll do anything for him as a competitor and as his head coach.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
