Adebayo already playing as a closer in return

MIAMI — The early returns on Bam Adebayo’s Miami Heat comeback are that he already is settling back in as a finisher.

It is the opening jitters after a seven-week absence due to a thumb injury that have been about the only issue.

In Monday night’s return in the home victory over the Toronto Raptors, there was a scoreless opening period, before coming around with five points and four rebounds in the fourth quarter of what finished as a 14-point, nine-rebound performance.

In Wednesday night’s victory over the Portland Trail Blazers, 10 of his 20 points and five of his 11 rebounds came in the fourth quarter.

And even in Friday night’s loss to the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena, eight of his 21 points came during a fourth-quarter comeback that nearly had the Heat overcoming an 18-point deficit.

Of where he stands conditioning-wise, Adebayo said, “in the middle. There’s nothing like five-on-five live, in the middle of fans. But doing the little stuff off the court has kept me in great shape.”

Teammates say he is being modest. “I mean, honestly, he’s played at a really high level since he’s been back,” guard Duncan Robinson said, with the Heat turning their attention to the Los Angeles Lakers’ Sunday visit at the start of a four-game homestand. “To be out the way he has and to hit the ground running is really impressive.

“It’s a testament to all the work he’s put in leading up to his return. He’s only going to get better as he gets more and more comfortable, and as we just kind of get into that rhythm of all playing together.”

Guard Gabe Vincent said the uneven moments with Adebayo largely have been the exception.

“It’s amazing to see that mentality return, to see him in attack mode, to see him play with so much passion, and to compete at such a high level,” Vincent said. “Obviously the rhythm, a couple of passes got away from him, little things like that, you still see this great Bam right now.

“There’s way more coming. So that’s encouraging to see, as well. And as we continue to get the rest of our team back together, we’re looking at, to continue playing well.”

With point guard Kyle Lowry missing the past three games for personal reasons, the whole Heat remain a work in progress.

So, for the past week, it’s been about the progress of Adebayo.

“It’s great to have him back,” Robinson said. “The energy he plays with, just how he flies around, and the impact on both ends of the floor that he’s able to have, just his versatility, it’s a luxury.

“Honestly, there’s just not a lot of players that can do what he can do like that.”

Just being back has been victory enough. “Man, I’m happy to be out there, honestly,” Adebayo said. “The seven weeks were very long to me, I said as somebody who’s never been injured for that long period of time. I’m just out there being energetic, leaving it all out there.”

The miss

While a pair of Heat shots missed afterward, the talk after Friday night’s 110-108 loss was the missed point-bank layup from Jimmy Butler off an Adebayo alley-oop pass with 22.8 seconds to play and the Heat down 109-108.

The play came off a Heat timeout.

Butler bypassed a postgame interview request, but Vincent stressed not to overstate a single play.

“Things happen. It’s a long game,” Vincent said. “It’s a long game and we had 15 turnovers. So there’s a lot of things we did wrong throughout the game. We’re not going to isolate one play and get on one player. We’re not.

“We’ll execute down the stretch again and I’m sure he’ll make the next one, without a doubt.”

Hawks coach Nate McMillian appreciated the moment.

“I think my eyes kind of forced that one out,” McMillan said. “You need breaks. You need a little luck. You need breaks, and we got one there.”

Injury report

Lowry will miss a fourth consecutive game due to personal reasons. Power forward P.J. Tucker, who sat out the final three periods Friday, is listed as questionable with calf soreness. Also still out are Tyler Herro (protocols), Markieff Morris (neck) and KZ Okpala (wrist).

LYNNE SLADKY/AP Heat center Bam Adebayo has been making closing statements in his return from his sevenweek absence.