All Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo could do was shake his head and let out a big sigh of relief.<\/p>\n
Through the first 10 games of his eighth NBA season, Adebayo averaged just 15.3 points per game on 40.7 percent shooting from the field and 5-of-23 (21.7 percent) shooting from three-point range after shooting better than 50 percent from the field in each of the first seven seasons of his NBA career. Adebayo, a three-time NBA All-Star, entered Friday with the league\u2019s worst true shooting percentage (a shooting percentage that also factors in the value of three-point field goals and free throws) among the 68 players with at least 140 field-goal attempts.<\/p>\n
But Adebayo finally found a rhythm during the Heat\u2019s 124-111 road win over the Indiana Pacers on Friday night, finishing with 30 points on 10-of-17 (58.8 percent) shooting from the field, 2-of-3 (66.7 percent) shooting on threes and 8-of-9 (88.9 percent) shooting from the foul line, 11 rebounds, seven assists and five steals against a struggling Pacers defense. The Heat improved to 2-3 on its six-game trip and 5-6 for the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a long season,\u201d Adebayo said, with the Heat set to close its six-game trip spanning 12 days with another matchup against the Pacers on Sunday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse (5 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network \u2014 Sun). \u201dBut just staying with the preparation, staying with the work behind the scenes, not getting down on myself. Like I said before, it\u2019s one of those things where it\u2019s unnatural to see me shoot under 50 percent every night. So I just keep my same mentality.<\/p>\n
My teammates are behind me, my coaches are behind me, they know I\u2019m going to make plays and tonight I did that.\u201d Most of Adebayo\u2019s production Friday came in the second half following a quiet three-point first half, helping to turn a six-point halftime lead into a 13-point win. Adebayo totaled 27 points on 9-of-13 (69.2 percent) shooting from the field, 2-of-3 (66.7 percent) shooting on threes and 7-of-7 (100 percent) shooting from the foul line in Friday\u2019s second half for the highest-scoring half of his NBA career.<\/p>\n
Not only did it mark the 24th game in Adebayo\u2019s NBA career that he has hit the 30-point mark in, but he also became the first Heat player in franchise history to record at least 30 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and five steals in a regular-season game. Adebayo is also the first player in the league to reach those numbers in any game this season. \u201cHe was making the right play,\u201d Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Adebayo\u2019s second-half display. \u201cHe could have easily had a triple-double tonight and he was getting other guys open looks with his screening, he was rolling hard to the rim, he was running, he was creating a lot of action just off the glass and taking it and going.\u201d<\/p>\n
After putting up just four field-goal attempts and two free throws in Friday\u2019s first half, the 27-year-old Adebayo took a more assertive approach on the way to his dominant second half. Adebayo\u2019s full offensive repertoire was on display down the stretch of Friday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n
There were face-up post moves, hard rolls to the basket, midrange jumpers, turnaround fadeaways, three-pointers and even a dunk in transition off a steal while also drawing five fouls in the second half. \u201cWe were able to kind of settle the game, which is what great players can help you do, by going into the post and playing him at the elbow and those kinds of things that just kind of settled us,\u201d Spoelstra said. \u201cThen once he got going there, got some free throws, he was able to knock down some threes. We were all really thrilled for him because he did it the right way. You just focus on making those winning plays and the ball finds karma.\u201d In Spoelstra\u2019s eyes, Adebayo generated that good karma by finding other ways to make an impact even during his early-season shooting slump.<\/p>\n
While his points and shooting efficiency is down so far, he\u2019s averaging a career-high three offensive rebounds, two steals and 1.3 blocks per game this season. According to at least one advanced metric, Adebayo is also still one of the NBA\u2019s top defenders. He entered Saturday with the league\u2019s eighth-best defensive estimated plus\/minus (estimated impact on defense per 100 possessions) for the season at plus 2.2. \u201cThis is a lesson to all young guys,\u201d Spoelstra continued. \u201cYou want to change the energy of the ball going in, you focus on all the other things and he was tremendous just in terms of winning basketball, imposing his will the last two games. It resulted in one win.<\/p>\n
But wow, was he a force of nature in both the Detroit game and the Minnesota game, just really focusing on defending, rebounding, creating triggers for us, rolling hard, offensive rebounding. \u201cAnd then the karma eventually changes.<\/p>\n
Does it change exactly when you want it to change? Not necessarily in this league. But that\u2019s what makes him so unique as a winning player. He focused on those things, he focused on leading, his voice was great in these three games. And then the ball would just find him [against the Pacers].\u201d Now, the challenge for Adebayo is to stack a few quality shooting performances together. After totaling 32 points on 50 percent shooting from the field in a Nov. 2 win over the Washington Wizards earlier this season, Adebayo shot just 22 of 65 (33.8 percent) from the field in the next four games. Even after Friday\u2019s eye-opening stat line, he\u2019s still shooting just 42.7 percent from the field and 7 of 26 (26.9 percent) from three-point range through the Heat\u2019s first 11 games this season. \u201cIt\u2019s always going to be an uphill battle during the season,\u201d Adebayo said. \u201cIt\u2019s a long season. Games every other day, sometimes back-to-backs. The mindset is trying to bring that same energy, that same type of execution to the next game.\u201d<\/p>\n
BUTLER UPGRADED<\/p>\n
Forward Jimmy Butler, who has missed the past three games with an ankle injury, was upgraded to questionable for Sunday\u2019s game at the Pacers. Butler remained with the team on its ongoing road trip and has been receiving treatment on the ankle. The Heat plays Monday night at home against Philadelphia, and it\u2019s unclear if Butler will play in both ends of the back-to-back set on Sunday and Monday. Guard Josh Christopher and forward Keshad Johnson are unavailable Sunday due to G-League assignments. Those are the only two Heat players ruled out for Sunday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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