After the Miami Heat took care of the Toronto Raptors 121-111 on their home floor, they improved their record to 9-8 on the season. It is just the second time this year that Miami has eclipsed the .500 mark and first since being 3-2. The win was good enough to catapult them back into the East’s fifth seed.

It was a game of runs, but a second-half offensive explosion was enough to take control from Toronto. The Heat outscored the Raptors 38-23 in the third quarter. They opened the night going just 2 of 20 from 3-point range as a team, but wound up turning it around to go 21 of 54 for the game— a season high in attempts from long range.

There were several standout outings from Miami’s core on the night. Jimmy Butler led all scorers with 26 points and six rebounds, with Tyler Herro adding 23 points . Terry Rozier and Jaime Jaquez Jr. brought some nice bench contributions as well.

However, Bam Adebayo brought a different type of versatile impact to help lead his team. He secured an impressive triple-double of 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to go along with 3 steals.

He didn’t shoot the ball too well, going just 6/16 from the field, but that didn’t stop him from affecting the game in other ways to help lead the Heat. Adebayo’s all around game was on full display, as his two-way presence willed his team to the win. The All-Star big man was doing a bit of everything and it provided a much needed jolt.

Adebayo does a great job at playing off his teammates, especially Butler and/or Herro when they have it going offensively. He plays as the anchor of the team and contributes to winning in so many different ways, which makes him the special player that he is. It is rare to still be as crucial to winning without scoring efficiently, yet Adebayo is able to always do so.

He provided the Heat with a complete skillset against the Raptors that increased their level of play on both ends. Adebayo is usually a double-double threat every night, where he is third all-time in franchise history. However, his passing was truly elite, providing excellent reads and court vision to create great looks for his teammates.

Miami needed his impact to secure this win, and his spark brought a much needed element on the court. There were several plays where the Heat star broke down Toronto’s defense without even scoring. Adebayo has picked up some of Kevin Love’s classic full court outlet passes, as he had a few of those nice connections, including one to Jimmy Butler in transition. His passing has always been an underrated part of his game for a big, but tonight he earned all the flowers.

Adebayo will look to keep it going in the second part of the Heat-Raptors back-to-back set, as he’s added double-double efforts in four of the last five games.