Erik Spoelstra has no plans to apologise to anybody after he left Bam Adebayo in the 150-129 win over the Wizards, where the Heat star scored a history-making 83 points to surpass legend Kobe Bryant.
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The 83-point performance — which is now the No. 2 in NBA history for a single game — has created a surprising amount of blowback, and Spoelstra made sure that it was known that he had regrets over it.
“I apologise to absolutely no one. Period,” he told reporters ahead of the Heat’s game against the Bucks in Miami.
“And going into the game, it’s a Tuesday night game against a team where they’re not playing for anything, where their organisation is trying to lose. We’ve already lost a game, you know, in that kind of situation. We have players [who] are sitting out. And I spoke to Bam about what I want, as our best player and team captain, for him to be locked in and ready.
“And he sure was.”
Adebayo trails only Wilt Chamberlain for most points in an NBA game with his 83-point night this week, where he shot 20-of-43 and made 36 free throws.
He also went 7-for-22 from 3-point range.
It garnered pushback from some around the league, with Wizards coach Brian Keefe not seeming to be a fan of Spoelstra’s late-game tactics. Lakers head coach JJ Redick described the latter moments of the game as “a different type of basketball.”
Chris “Mad Dog” Russo called the Heat’s tactics on Tuesday a “complete disgrace,” and broadcaster Doris Burke said she was “slightly uncomfortable with the six-minute mark and down with some of the intentional fouling and free throws? A little bit.”
Gordon Hayward, meanwhile, said the achievement felt “not legit”.
“I don’t think it’s great for the league. I think it kind of highlights how they’re already struggling. It kind of feels like a pickup game when you’re watching,” he said.
Spoelstra said he’s “not losing any sleep” over it and doubled down on what happened.
“I would do it 10 times out of 10 again for Bam,” Spoelstra said.
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SUPERSTAR’S ‘WILD’ PIECE OF NBA HISTORY
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander broke the NBA record for consecutive 20-point games by delivering his 127th in a row in Oklahoma City’s 104-102 home win over the Boston Celtics.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 points on sizzling 13-of-18 shooting from the floor, including 2-of-5 from three-point range, and 7-of-8 from the free throw line while adding nine assists, six rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
The reigning NBA Most Valuable Player eclipsed the 63-year-old mark of 126 set by NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain when he sank a 20-foot jump shot from the top of the key with 7:04 remaining in the third quarter.
That gave the 27-year-old Canadian guard 21 points for the game and lifted the reigning NBA champion Thunder level with Boston at 69-69.
The game was decided by Chet Holmgren’s two free throws with 0.8 of a second remaining after being fouled on a rebound, which gave the Thunder the final margin.
Boston had a final chance but Payton Pritchard missed a shot at the buzzer. The Thunder improved to an NBA-best 52-15 with their seventh consecutive victory, dropping the Celtics to 43-23.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s streak began on November 1, 2024, and since then he has averaged 35.5 points and shot 53.5 percent.
In the streak, Gilgeous-Alexander has delivered all five of his career 50-point games, 18 40-point performances and 85 30-point games.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 17 points in the first half, putting himself on the brink of NBA history as the second half began.
He missed a three-point attempt but was later fouled on a drive to the basket and made two free throws to pull within one point of the milestone, setting the stage for his breakthrough basket.
Gilgeous-Alexander was unhappy with only 10 points in the first quarter. “I was having a terrible game to that point,” he said.
“I didn’t like how I started. I started sluggish. I wanted to focus on getting the car back on the road and make sure we walked out of here with a W.”
In other games, Victor Wembanyama was sidelined by a sore right ankle for the San Antonio Spurs, which spoiled a big-man matchup with Denver’s Nikola Jokic, who had a triple double with 31 points, 20 rebounds and 12 assists in the Nuggets’ 136-131 victory.
The Spurs had their five-game win streak snapped despite 30 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists by Stephon Castle, who missed a tying three-point attempt with 19.8 seconds remaining.
Jamal Murray, who scored 39 points, made four late free throws to seal Denver’s victory.
Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic scored 51 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and passed off nine assists in a 142-130 home victory over Chicago.
Australian Josh Giddey stuffed the stats sheet in the loss, scoring 27 points to go with 15 assists and eight rebounds, although he also had six turnovers.
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At Indiana, Phoenix’s Devin Booker scored 43 points and Jalen Green added 36 to spark the Suns’ 123-108 victory over the Pacers, whose losing streak hit 11 games.
Eastern Conference leader Detroit (47-18) got a game-high 19 points from Duncan Robinson plus 14 points and 10 rebounds in 15 minutes by Jalen Duren in a 131-109 home rout of Philadelphia.
Atlanta stretched its win streak to eight games with a 108-97 home victory over Brooklyn. Jalen Johnson sparked the Hawks with 21 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
Swedish guard Pelle Larsson scored 28 points and the Miami Heat won their seventh consecutive game, beating visiting Milwaukee 112-105.
The Orlando Magic boosted their win streak to six games with a 136-131 overtime home triumph over Washington. Jalen Suggs finished with 28 points and Tristan da Silva had 26.