MIAMI — The Miami Heat led the Washington Wizards by 25 points with 2:56 left. The game was essentially over, the outcome decided, and Miami center Bam Adebayo got called for an offensive foul that would not have mattered under normal circumstances.
These were not normal circumstances.
Adebayo already had 77 points Tuesday night, but the Heat wanted more, so coach Erik Spoelstra emphatically challenged that offensive foul call. Every player, assistant coach and staff member on the sideline for Miami jumped off the bench, celebrating that decision. The challenge failed after a review determined the on-court officials got the call right, but it was clear what the moment meant to the home team.
Adebayo wound up scoring 83 points. It was the second-highest total by any player in any game in NBA history, passing Kobe Bryant’s 81 (for the Los Angeles Lakers in their 122-104 home win against the Toronto Raptors on Jan. 22, 2006) and trailing only Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 (for the Philadelphia Warriors in their 169-147 home win against the New York Knicks on March 2, 1962).
“The thing you love about it, and why everybody roots for Bam, is because he does all the winning things,” Spoelstra said. “He does the things that aren’t recognized. He puts his body out there, he’s available, he is a rugged competitor.”