Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo each scored 37 points Friday night as the Miami Heat beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 133-121 in NBA Cup group play, as first reported by ClutchPoints.
Giannis was surgical, shooting 15-of-20 with nine rebounds. Bam was even more active: 13-of-19 shooting, 14 rebounds and three assists, with 18 of his points coming in the first quarter while Giannis sat. Davion Mitchell ran the show with 22 points and a career-high-tying 17 assists, which also tied Goran Dragic and Sherman Douglas for the second-most dimes in a game by a Heat player.
Miami won the second-chance battle 21-4 and outrebounded Cleveland 46-36. Giannis and Bam combined for 23 of those boards.
What They Said
Giannis called Bam “one of the most versatile bigs that I’ve ever played with.” Bam said it starts with defense and getting out on the break, because “Giannis is a freight train in transition.” Erik Spoelstra kept it simple, pointing to the force those two put on opponents in the paint: “That’s our advantage.”
The IAHHM Take
Remember the 0-4 start and all the “this pairing doesn’t work” takes? Miami has now won six of its last eight, and this was its best win of the season. Two bigs who both want the paint was always the worry. Friday answered it: when the Heat get stops and run, Giannis gets downhill, and Bam gets the leftovers from the elbow. That’s a nightmare to guard.
It also matters who was setting the table. Mitchell going for 17 assists is the kind of night that makes this whole thing look sustainable, not just a two-man show.
Miami doesn’t get much time to celebrate. It’s a back-to-back, with the Detroit Pistons and a red-hot Cade Cunningham up Saturday night. Is this the start of a real Heat run, or did Cleveland just catch them on a perfect night?
Source: ClutchPoints
