Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) reacts after making a basket during the second half of a game against the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, at the Kaseya Center in downtown Miami, Fla. Alie Skowronski askowronski@miamiherald.com
Miami Heat three-time All-Star center Bam Adebayo has been stuck in one of the worst offensive slumps of his NBA career for the last month. But on the day Adebayo took a big step toward finally snapping out of that slump, he also took a giant step in continuing to establish himself as one of the most accomplished players in Heat history.
After not reaching the 20-point mark in nearly a month, Adebayo exploded for a game-high 29 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the field, 4-of-6 shooting from three-point range and 3-of-4 shooting from the foul line to go with nine rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block in Tuesday night’s 127-121 win over the Phoenix Suns at Kaseya Center that ended the Heat’s three-game losing skid. It marked Adebayo’s second-highest scoring game of the season behind only a 31-point outing in an Oct. 30 loss to the San Antonio Spurs and his first game with at least 20 points since scoring 20 in a Dec. 15 loss to the Toronto Raptors.
On the way to finishing with 29 points on Tuesday, Adebayo also passed Alonzo Mourning for sole possession of second place on the Heat’s all-time scoring list. Adebayo (9,461 points) is now two points ahead of third-place Mourning (9,459) and 12,095 points behind No. 1 Dwyane Wade (21,556 points).
“I’m very pure with this game of basketball, and I know sometimes it’s going to happen,” Adebayo, 28, said of going through shooting slumps. “But when you keep that positive mindset, I know the table is going to turn at some point. And it did tonight. What I love about it is I got to pass Zo.”
Adebayo passed Mourning on the Heat’s all-time scoring list and delivered for the Heat in the clutch, totaling 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field and 2-of-3 shooting on threes in Tuesday’s fourth quarter. After the Suns pulled ahead by six points with 3:32 to play, Adebayo went on a personal 8-0 run to give the Heat a two-point lead and push the Heat to the win.
“The big threes down the stretch, the ball found the right karma,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said, with the Heat (21-19) set to continue its homestand on Thursday against the Boston Celtics at Kaseya Center (7:30 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Sun). “I thought he earned it, to have a great night. He just really did, how he was just pouring so much of his effort and intensity into the game, and he hit those two clutch threes and it was just awesome to see it.”
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) gets announced before the first half of a game against the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, at Kaseya Center in Miami. Alie Skowronski askowronski@miamiherald.com
It was a much-needed night for Adebayo, who entered Tuesday averaging just 11.4 points per game on 37.1 percent shooting from the field and 5-of-23 (21.7 percent) shooting from three-point range over his last 11 games.
“Probably. Who wouldn’t?” Spoelstra said when asked if he sensed that Tuesday’s breakout performance provided a mental lift for Adebayo. “He’s a great competitor in this league, and he has so many responsibilities for us. So, yeah, I’m sure it probably felt awesome to be able to contribute on both ends of the court and make big shots. He started out really assertive and he was knocking down shots. He was also facilitating and screening for us.
“He was basically doing everything. So, he filled up the box score in all the statistical ways, but then all the winning intangible ways as well. And that’s why I say the karma of the game, it found him. He deserved it, he earned it and he produced for our team tonight.”
When asked Tuesday about finally reaching the 20-point mark after his inefficient stretch of games, Adebayo was quick to point out that he has still been anchoring one of the NBA’s top defenses. The Heat enters Wednesday with the NBA’s fourth-ranked defense this season.
“A lot of people care about the last column,” said Adebayo, who is the only player in franchise history to make one of the league’s All-Defensive teams in five different seasons while with the Heat. “But throughout this offensive slump, I’ve still been doing the defensive part. We’re still ranked the fourth-best defense, and nobody is talking about that. They’re just talking about my offense.
But Adebayo then admitted “it feels great to see the ball go in.”
“I’ve been through a slump, what, probably two weeks, and you don’t overreact to it,” he said. “When you’re in this league long enough, you see some of the greats go through slumps. And being able to obviously reach out, talk to people and then just quiet the noise a little bit. You kind of have that out-of-body experience, and it just becomes a spark at some point. And that was that spark tonight.”
Adebayo revealed he reached out to Heat icons Udonis Haslem and Dwyane Wade during his offensive drought. He also went to his girlfriend A’ja Wilson, who is the WNBA’s first four-time MVP, for advice.
“Obviously, when you’re frustrated, you contact some guys that are scorers like D. Wade,” said Adebayo, who is the Heat’s highest paid player this season and whose salary goes up to nearly $50 million next season. “I reached out to D. Wade, UD, because I see myself as the mix between them both. Being able to score and obviously have those moments where it’s like consecutive points, and you know what the flow feels like, you know what a slump feels like. And then also UD when it’s the other end of you still got to take care of business on the defensive end. Being a two-way player, you’re going to have those moments where the offense isn’t swaying your way. The table is always going to turn.”
The next challenge for Adebayo is to string together efficient offensive performances.
Even after Tuesday’s 29-point display, Adebayo is averaging his fewest points since his third NBA season at 16.8 points per game and shooting a career-low 45.6 percent from the field this season.
“My message to him is to keep going,” Heat guard Norman Powell said when asked about Adebayo. “I told him even last game, ‘It don’t matter whether you make or miss, man. They’re empty calories. You put the work in. If it’s a good shot that you work on, if it’s in and out, if you miss badly or whatever, the next one is always the best shot.’ I just told him to clear his head and just hoop. He knows what he can do. We know the player that he is, and it’s just clearing his mind and making the plays that are in front of him.”
When Adebayo is at his best, so is the Heat. The Heat hopes Tuesday ends up being the slump-busting game that Adebayo needed to get back on track on the offensive end.
“In this locker room, we know what he’s capable of,” Heat guard Tyler Herro said of Adebayo. “So we’re just excited that he had another big night, and we just keep rolling.”