Bam Adebayo Leads Miami Heat To NBA Cup Win At Indiana

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.”

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.

“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.

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