Offense stall as Bam doesn’t take one shot in 4th quarter
CLEVELAND
With Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson all unavailable for Monday’s fourth quarter because of injuries, All-Star center Bam Adebayo was the Heat’s No. 1 offensive option.
But Adebayo didn’t take a shot in the fourth quarter — not even a free throw. And the Heat had just six points in the final 6:54 of the 98-91 loss at Philadelphia.
Adebayo finished with 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field (including 2 of 2 on threes) and 2 of 2 from the foul line. All of that production came in the first three quarters.
“A lot of moving parts to that,” Adebayo said when asked why he didn’t get a shot in the fourth quarter. “But that’s a Spo question.”
Coach Erik Spoelstra pointed to the 76ers’ defensive scheme. With Adebayo clearly the Heat’s top offensive option amid the injuries, the 76ers packed the paint and sent extra bodies his way to limit his opportunities down the stretch.
“They were packing the paint like crazy, almost daring us to shoot from the three-point line,” Spoelstra said. “We had to shoot some of those just to keep them honest.
“Post-ups, there really wasn’t anywhere to go.
Elbow catches or any kind of pick-and-roll to throw it back to him, there wasn’t anywhere to go because they were just sending multiple defenders into the paint.”
Adebayo spent the first 6:21 of the fourth quarter on the bench after playing 10:12 in the third quarter. He entered to play the final 5:39, and the Heat was outscored 10-6 during that stretch. The 76ers stretched a three-point lead when Adebayo entered into a seven-point win.
The Heat shot just 3 of 13 from the field and 0 of 6 on threes during the final 5:39 after Adebayo was subbed in. During that span, Jaime Jaquez Jr. was 0 of 4 from the field, Caleb Martin was 2 of 3,
Terry Rozier was 1 of 3 and Patty Mills was 0 of 3. Adebayo was 0 of 0 from the field.
“Down the stretch, I feel like we had a lot of lapses offensively,” said Adebayo, who hit a buzzerbeating, game-winning three-pointer Sunday at Detroit. “Over-passing the ball, not really being aggressive and taking shots. For us, it’s just getting on the same page.”
LOWRY’S NIGHT
The last time veteran guard Kyle Lowry scored 16 or more points and took 12 more field-goal attempts in a game was Dec. 14 in a loss to Chicago when he still was playing for the Heat. Three months later, Lowry hit both of those marks in his first game against the Heat since Miami traded him in late January.
Lowry, who entered Monday’s game averaging 7.9 points and 6.2 field-goal attempts per game in his first 11 appearances with the 76ers, helped beat Miami with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field and 3-of-5 shooting on threes. He also had two steals and one block.
Lowry, 37, made a few important shots in the clutch, too, hitting a three to put the 76ers ahead by four points with 3:09 to play and then making a layup to extend the lead to six with 1:36 remaining.
Was Lowry especially motivated to stand out in his first game against Miami since being traded? He downplayed that notion.
“I think the juice was that we understand that was a big game for the standings,” Lowry said. “We needed that win for standings purposes. I love and admire those guys so much and I still root for them, except for when
I’m playing against them.”
The Heat traded Lowry and a lottery-protected first-round pick to Charlotte to acquire Rozier on Jan. 23. Lowry, who is a Philadelphia native, didn’t play for the Hornets, agreeing to a buyout to eventually sign with his hometown 76ers.
x-clinched playoff spot
WEDNESDAY
Miami at Cleveland, 7
Indiana at Detroit, 7
Milwaukee at Boston, 7:30 Sacramento at Toronto, 7:30
Utah at Oklahoma City, 8
Memphis at Golden State, 10 Philadelphia at Phoenix, 10
L.A. Clippers at Portland, 10
TUESDAY
Charlotte at Orlando
Houston at Washington
New Orleans at Brooklyn
Dallas at San Antonio
Denver at Minnesota
MONDAY
Philadelphia 98, Miami 91
Cleveland 108, Indiana 103
Boston 119, Detroit 94
Chicago 110, Portland 107 Minnesota 114, Utah 104
New York 119, Golden State 112 L.A. Lakers 136, Atlanta 105 Sacramento 121, Memphis 111 (OT)
Miami Min FG-A FT-A R A F Pt Highsmith 26 4-7 0-2 5 2 0 11 Jaquez Jr 35 3-13 2-2 9 4 1 9 Adebayo 32 8-10 2-2 13 6 1 20 D.Robinson 24 1-5 1-2 4 0 4 3 Rozier 34 8-21 1-1 8 1 0 20 Bryant 16 4-9 2-2 2 1 1 11 Ca.Martin 35 6-14 0-1 4 2 3 13 Mills 22 1-6 0-0 2 3 2 3 Wright 16 0-4 1-2 2 4 1 1
Totals 240 35-89 9-14 49 23 13 91
Percentages: FG .393, FT .643.3-Point
Goals: 12-33, .364 (Highsmith 3-6, Rozier 3-7, Adebayo 2-2, Bryant 1-1, Jaquez Jr 1-5, Mills 1-5, Ca.Martin 1-6, D.Robinson 0-1).Team Rebounds: 11.Team Turnovers: 15.Blocked Shots: 3 (Bryant, Ca.Martin, Rozier).Turnovers: 15 (Adebayo 4, Ca.Martin 4, Rozier 3, Highsmith, Jaquez Jr, Mills, D.Robinson).Steals: 8 (Ca.Martin 4, Bryant, Jaquez Jr, Rozier, Wright).Technical Fouls: (Ca.Martin).
Philadelphia Min FG-A FT-A R A F Pt Batum 38 1-4 0-0 8 1 4 2 Oubre Jr 39 10-19 0-0 11 3 1 22 Bamba 19 3-5 0-0 4 3 2 8 Lowry 35 6-12 1-1 4 1 2 16 Maxey 41 11-24 5-5 810 3 30 Hield 24 4-10 2-2 2 1 1 12 K.Martin 7 0-1 1-2 0 0 2 1 Payne 16 1-5 0-0 2 3 0 3 Reed 22 1-5 2-2 7 1 1 4
Totals 240 37-85 11-12 46 23 16 98
Percentages: FG .435, FT .917.3-Point
Goals: 13-36, .361 (Lowry 3-5, Maxey 3-10, Bamba 2-3, Oubre Jr 2-6, Hield 2-7, Payne 1-3, Batum 0-1, Reed 0-1).Team Rebounds: 2.Team Turnovers: 12.Blocked
Shots: 12 (Oubre Jr 5, Bamba 2, Batum, Hield, Lowry, Maxey, Reed).Turnovers: 12 (Maxey 3, Oubre Jr 2, Payne 2, Bamba, Batum, Hield, K.Martin, Reed).Steals: 7 (Bamba 2, Batum 2, Lowry 2, Maxey).
Miami 23 26 16 26 — 91 Philadelphia 31 20 28 19 — 98 Att.—19,782 (20,328).T—2:20. Officials—Bill Kennedy, Matt Myers, Sean Wright.