BBNBA: Bam Adebayo's triple-double helps Heat eliminate Bucks
Bam Adebayo did it all in Miami’s 128-126 Game 5 overtime win against Milwaukee. The eight-seeded Heat outscored the top-seeded Bucks 32-16 in the fourth quarter to force overtime, and then ultimately ended Milwaukee’s season with a 4-1 series win. Miami advances to the Eastern Conference semifinals where they’ll match up against the five-seeded New York Knicks in a best-of-seven series.
Adebayo had his biggest night of the playoffs yet. He went for 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists before fouling out of Wednesday’s contest. While his outstanding performance may be overlooked due to Jimmy Butler’s stellar series, Adebayo came to play last night. Bam’s outing shouldn’t come as a shock to many considering he nearly averaged a double-double all season long. The two-time NBA All-Star now shows his proficiency in three different stat categories.
What can’t this man do?
Miami became just the sixth team in NBA history to knock off a one-seed as an eight-seed and the first-ever to do so in just five games.
BBNBA’s series
As mentioned, it’ll be Knicks vs. Heat in the second round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs. New York also won its respective series, defeating No. 5 Cleveland in five games. For the average BBNBA enjoyer, there isn’t a better matchup for round two. Four BBNBA studs — two on each team — duking it out for a shot at the Eastern Conference Finals.
Immanuel Quickley also had his best playoff performance last night. IQ went for 19 points on 5-15 shooting, playing 29 minutes. He’s getting valuable minutes off the bench, whereas Julius Randle is trending in the complete opposite direction.
Randle struggled in the series against the Cavs, but that hasn’t seemed to bother the Knicks. After being benched in Game 4, Randle only saw 16 minutes on the floor last night. Keep in mind he was New York’s lone All-Star who regularly saw 30-plus minutes of action on a nightly basis. Whether or not he plays a large role vs. Miami is up to head coach Tom Thibodeau. Game 1 of Knicks vs. Heat is scheduled for Sunday at 1:00 p.m. EST in Madison Square Garden.
3-2 for the Cali teams
It’s two different scenarios for both of the California squads that employ BBNBA ballers. The No. 3 Sacramento Kings have now lost three straight games and trail the No. 6 Golden State Warriors 3-2. On the other hand, the No. 7 Los Angeles Lakers lead the No. 2 Memphis Grizzlies 3-2 in that grueling series. Both the Lakers and Kings were handed losses yesterday.
We start in Memphis, where the Lakers had a chance to send Memphis fishing. The Grizzlies got out to an early 14-point lead at the end of the first quarter and never looked back. Despite the loss, Anthony Davis was tremendous. AD finished with a monster double-double of 31 points and 19 rebounds. He led the Lakers in scoring, shooting an impressive 14-23 from the field. Jarred Vanderbilt and Wenyen Gabriel combined for 10 points in the Lakers’ 116-99 loss. Vando went for seven while Gabriel added three.
The series shifts back to LA with the Lakers still in command. While the Purple and Gold has a couple more eggshells to walk on now, if Davis continues to perform at an AD-like level, the Lakers will have two golden opportunities to put Memphis away.
A series that has completely turned on its head is the Kings-Warriors battle. Sacramento has crumbled under the pressure in the past week and now faces elimination. De’Aaron Fox did end up playing last night despite a lingering finger injury on his shooting hand. Fox played 41 minutes, dropping 24 points, seven rebounds, and nine assists. Malik Monk was his usual productive self off the bench. Monk, who has been nearly unstoppable in his minutes given, added 21 points. Trey Lyles added five points, too.
But all of this wasn’t enough as Sacramento fell 123-116 at home.
The Kings will begin their trek back on I-80 to the Bay Area for Game 6 with Golden State on Sunday. The time is yet to be determined, but Sacramento will need to light the beam twice more to keep playoff hopes alive. It’s now or never for Fox and company.
4/25/23 statistics
| Player | Score | PTS | FG (3PT) | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | +/- | MIN |
| Anthony Davis (LAL) | 116-99 L @ MEM | 31 | 14-23 (1-3) | 19 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +6 | 35 |
| De’Aaron Fox (SAC) | 123-116 L vs. GSW | 24 | 9-25 (3-10) | 7 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 6 | -4 | 41 |
| Malik Monk (SAC) | 123-116 L vs. GSW | 21 | 6-14 (1-5) | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | +6 | 29 |
| Bam Adebayo (MIA) | 128-126 W (OT) @ MIL | 20 | 8-20 (0-1) | 10 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 3 | +17 | 39 |
| Immanuel Quickley (NYK) | 106-95 W @ CLE | 19 | 5-15 (3-10) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 29 |
| Julius Randle (NYK) | 106-95 W @ CLE | 13 | 4-9 (0-3) | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | +3 | 16 |
| Jarred Vanderbilt (LAL) | 116-99 L @ MEM | 7 | 3-4 (0-1) | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | +2 | 17 |
| Trey Lyles (SAC) | 123-116 L vs. GSW | 5 | 2-4 (1-2) | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | -2 | 13 |
| Wenyen Gabriel (LAL) | 116-99 L @ MEM | 3 | 1-3 (0-0) | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | -5 | 8 |
| Tyler Herro (MIA) | 128-126 W (OT) @ MIL | DNP (Hand) | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Tonight in the NBA
8:30 (TNT): No. 2 Celtics @ No. 7 Hawks | BOS leads 3-2
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