The Miami Heat suffered a brutal collapse at home on Sunday night, blowing a 19-point lead and falling to the New York Knicks in overtime 116-112. Naturally, Miami star Bam Adebayo was dissatisfied with his squad.
Despite a dominant first half, the Heat unraveled down the stretch, allowing the Knicks to claw back and steal a crucial win behind Jalen Brunson’s late-game heroics. Adebayo, who led the team with 30 points, didn’t hold back postgame, issuing a strong challenge to his teammates.
“We gotta be able to play 48 minutes of great basketball,” Adebayo said, according to Zachary Weinberger of ClutchPoints. “We’re not a type of team to rely on offense to get the dub. We gotta get stops, we gotta do the harder things because we’re not that type of team.”
The Heat appeared in control early, dominating the paint and holding a 17-point lead at halftime. However, the Knicks surged back, outscoring Miami 17-5 to close the third quarter and erasing an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit.
Adebayo’s frustration is understandable. Miami lost its defensive edge in the second half.
Bam Adebayo controls the basketball against the New York Knicks at Kaseya Center.
They squandered a massive advantage in the paint, as New York flipped a 20-point deficit in that category into a 58-56 edge by the end of overtime.
With the playoff race tightening, Adebayo’s words serve as a warning—if the Heat can’t sustain their intensity for a full 48 minutes, they’ll struggle to stay afloat in the East.
