Hyde: Adebayo’s winning shot is next step to stardom
The attrition came well before Bam Adebayo’s moment of truth.
James Harden was declared out for the Brooklyn Nets a day in advance of Sunday’s game at AmericanAirlines Arena. Jimmy Butler was formally a scratch by the Miami Heat two hours before tipoff. And less than five minutes in, Kevin Durant was done for the afternoon for the Nets with a thigh contusion.
With the playing field balanced in the most unexpected of ways, Adebayo made the moment of truth his own, with the Heat center converting a 13-foot step-back jumper from the left side of the lane at the buzzer for a 109-107 victory to snap a three-game losing streak.
“I’ve always dreamed of that moment,” Adebayo said. “A season can turn around after a game. Crazier things have happened in this league. We just got to build on that.”
“I mean, we just lost to one of the worst records in the NBA [Friday in Minnesota]. The fact that we did it against a top-two seed shows that we can win games.”
For the Heat, balance was needed and balance was offered, with 21 points and 15 rebounds from Adebayo, 18 points, eight rebounds and seven assists from Goran Dragic, as well as 18 points from Kendrick Nunn, 15 from Trevor Ariza and 11 from Duncan Robinson. That was boosted by a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double by center Dewayne Dedmon in his Heat home debut.
“There’s nothing more motivating than a three-game losing streak,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “There’s incredible desperation at that point.”
For the Nets, the scoring after Durant’s departure was concentrated, with a seasonhigh 30 points from Landry Shamet and 20 from Kyrie Irving.
“Even without Durant and Harden, they just have an incredible amount of firepower, shooting,” said Spoelstra, who challenged his team pregame to hold the Nets under 110 points.
“We won this game with our defense,” Dragic said.
Five Degrees of Heat from Sunday’s game: 1. Closing time: The Heat went into the fourth quarter up 86-84, fell behind 90-89, but then pushed to a 99-92 lead with 6:50 left.
But consecutive turnovers by Adebayo, his sixth and seventh of the game, fueled a pair of transition baskets and a 103-99 Nets lead with 4:33 to play. Ultimately, it grew to a 13-0 run and 105-99 Nets lead.
From there, the Heat dug in defensively, including Adebayo defensively against Irving.
And then Adebayo had his moment. “Once it went to Bam, he handled it the right way,” Spoelstra said of the possession that began with 24.3 seconds to play and the Heat with two timeouts. “He looked over to the bench, and at that point, we just made eye contact. My hands we up and it was like, ‘OK,’ it just better be the last shot.”
It was, replay confirming the buzzer was beaten.
2. Adebayo’s account: Adebayo offered an account from the decisive sequence from his perspective about what was going through his mind
“Score,” he said. “Spo said if we get a stop, call a timeout. And I wasn’t good with that.
“So when I caught it, I looked at the time and it said 11 seconds. I looked at Spo, and it was one of those looks like, ‘Don’t call a timeout This is the one moment I haven’t been doubled in the game. Don’t call a timeout.’ And made the shot.”
3. No Butler: After he first surfaced on the injury report Saturday night, Butler was ruled out two hours before Sunday’s tipoff with a sprained right ankle.
Spoelstra said the ankle, “is something that was not getting better. It was just getting worse. So we want to make sure we can take care of it right now.”
Butler had not missed a game since the March 25 home loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, when he was out due to a stomach illness, but he twisted his right ankle during the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s road loss to the Phoenix Suns, before returning later in that game.
He then was listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game against the Denver Nuggets, but played both in that loss and in Friday’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, when he led the Heat with 30 points before calling out teammates for what he perceived as “soft” play.
Spoelstra said Butler would be listed as day to day.
“This is going to be something we have to communicate,” Spoelstra said, “that Jimmy’s will and competitiveness is obviously immense and we want to make sure we’re being smart about it.”
4. Altered reality: Andre Iguodala, who sat out Friday’s loss in Minnesota with hip soreness, started in place of Butler.
But the changes hardly ended there, Dedmon played as the Heat’s first big man off the bench, and KZ Okpala entered at the start of the second period, the first meaningful minutes for Okpala in a month.
Dedmon was impactful with his force, something the Heat have been lacking this season, an upgrade in that respect on Precious Achiuwa and Nemanja Bjelica, with neither of those two playing Sunday.
Dedmon built his double-double by converting his lone field-goal attempt. He also was 8 of 8 from the line.
“This is who he’s been,” Spoelstra said. “He’s been a big player, plays big, plays at the rim. He gives certain elements of what we don’t have. And in these short minutes, these short bursts, he’s been able to do what he’s done previously as a starter.” Dedmon said he knew what was needed. “That’s just kind of how I play,” Dedmon said. “I’m just aggressive. I’m trying to get rebounds. I’m trying to get second shots for my teammates. Make sure I set some good screens to get them open.”
5. Still out: Victor Oladipo was on the sidelines in warm-up gear pregame, but missed his fifth consecutive game due to knee soreness.
Spoelstra said there was no new update on Oladipo, declining to specify whether Oladipo has been participating in basketball-related activities or whether Oladipo would be back this season.