The Miami Heat evened their NBA Cup record to 1-1 with a 124-111 victory over the Indiana Pacers Friday night at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Bam Adebayo led the way with 30 points, 11, rebounds, 7 assists and five steals for the Heat.
The double-double was his 197th of his career. He trails only Rony Seikaly for the team record,
“I got to see the ball go in,” Adebayo said after the game. “I found the rhythm and got aggressive and it was big for us.”
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Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra could not get the praise out of his mouth fast enough for the big center.
“This is what I am talking about. You want to change the ball going in, that’s how you do it,” Spoelstra said. “He was a force of nature. Defense, rebounding, rolling hard to the rim, getting offensive rebounds. The karma changes everything.”
Aside from having the hot hand, Adebayo assisted his teammates in transition with his seven assists.
“I was trying to get everyone invoved and it allowed me to get some room to operate,” Adebayo said. “I am a two-way player. I do it both ways.”
Tyler Herro had 20 points, three rebounds and five assists. Kevin Love finished with 15 points. Love led the Heat in the third quarter with 15 points. He was 3-of-4 from behind the 3-point line. He was 6-of-7 total shooting for the quarter.
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“It really opened the floodgates for Bam,” Love said after the game. “It was a beautiful thing to see in the third quarter.”
At the end of the third quarter the Heat maintained a 13-point lead 98-85. The Heat bounced back after a 12-0 Indiana run late in the third quarter.
With the win, Miami improves to 5-6, while Indiana drops to 5-7. The same two teams are set to play again on Sunday in a non-NBA Cup game.
Scott Salomon is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at sas@southfloridamedianetwork.com.
A man was hospitalized in critical condition after he was stabbed near an ATM in Miami on Tuesday morning, officials said.
Miami Police officials said the man was stabbed around 8:20 a.m. in the area of West Flagler Street and Northwest 12th Avenue in Little Havana, near a Truist bank.
Miami Fire Rescue officials said the 33-year-old was taken to a local hospital in critical condition.
The man’s identity wasn’t released and officials haven’t said what led to the stabbing but said no arrests have been made.
A player who spent most of the 2025 season with College Football Playoff finalist Miami has now joined the Indiana program ahead of the national championship game.
Tight end Brock Schott was with the Hurricanes until Jan. 2 when he entered the NCAA transfer portal as Miami was still in the playoff.
Last week, he committed to the Hoosiers, before they went on to make the national title game, too.
Schott announced on Jan. 5 that he was joining the Indiana program.
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The addition of Schott could give the Hoosiers an advantage as the freshman from Indiana knows the Miami playbook, as well as the team’s signals.
Brock Schott appeared in two games for Miami this season, catching a pair of passes for 24 yards. Both of his catches came in a 45-3 win over Bethune-Cookman.
Prior to joining the Miami program, Schott was a four-star recruit who was one of the top tight end prospects in the country.
The 6-foot-3, 245-pound player caught 28 passes for 462 yards and five touchdowns as a senior at Leo High School. He also played defense, recording 52 tackles, 17 tackles for loss and four forced fumbles in 11 games.
Schott had an even better season as a junior, catching 35 passes for 743 yards and six touchdowns. Defensively, he had 32 tackles for loss and 19 sacks as a junior.
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Miami and Indiana are set to meet in the national championship game on Monday, Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
