The Warriors coach argued Spoelstra definitely has nothing to apologize for letting Adebayo clinch the historic night.
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is simply impressed by Bam Adebayo's recent 83-point masterpiece for the Miami Heat.
Bam Adebayo
Bam Adebayo
Bam Adebayo
MIN: 31.73
PTS: 20.03 (53.22%)
REB: 9.78
AS: 2.9
ST: 1.1
BL: 0.69
TO: 1.75
GM: 59
“It's pretty amazing. I mean, what an incredible accomplishment,” Kerr said. “And he's not even really a scorer. He's an incredible player. But he wouldn't be at the top of anybody's mind for somebody to score that many points. So just seems like a bizarre evening.
"I didn't see the game, we were playing so I saw some of the high highlights, but just kind of one of those out of body experiences, and look like the team was completely in and engaged and having fun with it.”
Adebayo delivered one of the biggest nights in basketball last Tuesday. As the Heat won with a convincing 150-129 dub at home over the Washington Wizards, Adebayo tallied an unbelievable 83 points to set the record for the second most points scored by a player in a single game in NBA history, surpassing Kobe Bryan's 81-point performance 20 years ago.
But while the majority have celebrated this feat by Adebayo, many also emerged as huge critics. Adebayo was accused of stat-padding against the rebuilding Wizards team, in which he also established a new record for most free throws made and attempted ever (36-of-43).
As such, Kerr argued that Erik Spoelstra definitely has nothing to be sorry about letting Adebayo feast for an all-time performance, noting that he flashed a similar green light nearly eight years ago when Klay Thompson erupted for 14 triples to set the NBA record for most three-pointers made in a single game.
"It's really tricky as a coach. You feel awkward. I had that with Klay when he broke the three-point record. He had 14 in Chicago to set the record. I think he was at 13 to start the fourth quarter, and we were up big, so I let him go because I wanted him to get the record. The team wanted him to get the record, and it was a little awkward for sure. I felt bad. He was launching shots. Fortunately, he made one. I think he missed his first three of the quarter, and he was just launching every time. He made his fourth, and I couldn’t get him out fast enough, but it worked out. Everybody was happy," Kerr narrated.
"It is awkward, and there are a lot of mouths to feed, a lot of people to think about in those circumstances, but I respect what Spo said—he doesn’t need to apologize. He was doing it for his own team, and I respect that."
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