SAN FRANCISCO – Having endured numerous battles against Bam Adebayo over the last nine seasons, Kristaps Porzingis has a healthy respect for the Miami Heat center.
But sitting on a folding chair at the fringe of the Golden State locker room an hour after the Warriors fell 130-124 in overtime to Chicago, even Porzingis could not help but express confusion over what his peer had done in Miami.
“I don’t know who expected Adebayo to score 83,” Porzingis, whose career-high is 43 points. “Not me. I’m not saying he’s a bad player, but that’s a crazy night.”
In a wild 150-129 Miami victory over the Wizards, Adebayo put on a volume scoring performance for the ages in South Beach.
He made 20 of 43 shots, going 7 of 22 from behind the arc as he surpassed Kobe Bryant’s 81 points for second place all-time. Adebayo also attempted and made an NBA record 36 of 43 free throws.
Yes, forty-three foul shots in one 48-minute game.
“That’s a lot of free throws, but to get that done is remarkable,” Porzingis said. “So (my) hat’s off to him.”
The Miami Heat's Bam Adebayo (13) celebrates with teammates after a 150-129 win against the Washington Wizards at Kaseya Center on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Miami. Adebayo passed Kobe Bryant for the second-most points scored in an NBA game with 83. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images/TNS)
The Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo (13) celebrates with teammates after a 150-129 win against the Washington Wizards at Kaseya Center on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Miami. Adebayo passed Kobe Bryant for the second-most points scored in an NBA game with 83. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images/TNS)
Though still fuming from his team’s baffling loss to the Bulls – the Warriors squandered an eight-point lead with 91 seconds remaining – Kerr found his composure long enough to crack a joke.
“He was OK,” Kerr said sarcastically. “Second-most after Wilt? That’s pretty impressive.”
Wilt Chamberlain scored his famous 100 as a member of the Warriors, back when the franchise was based in Pennsylvania.
Just like in Wilt’s legendary performance in Hershey, Penn., Adebayo’s team intentionally fouled their opponent while the game was out of reach in the fourth quarter, trying to create more opportunities for their star to score.
Though the ethics of such a tactic was debated by the general masses, the vibes on among NBA players on social media was overwhelmingly congratulatory.
Kerr’s superstar point guard Steph Curry also joined an expansive group of NBA players who gave Adebayo his digital flowers on social media.
“You did what now,” Curry asked, including an eyeballs emoji and a picture of Adebayo holding up a paper with “83” scribbled on it.
Curry is no stranger to big games, having scored at least 50 points 15 times in his career. One can only wonder how many points he could have accumulated during one of those scoring binges, had Kerr elected to use the tactics Heat coach Eric Spoelstra employed.
Kerr, though, was in no mood to ponder such things. He pleasantly described how much he enjoyed coaching Adebayo on the USA’s 2024 Olympic gold medal-winning squad, but his mind still could not stray far from his NBA team’s 33rd loss of the season.
“He was one of the best guys to coach on that team. Just an incredible person, teammate, collaborator, just a phenomenal guy. I’m really happy for him,” Kerr said, “but I’d be happier for him if we’d won tonight.”