Heat’s busy All-Star Weekend is over. How did Adebayo and Butler do in the All-Star Game?
The Miami Heat came to All-Star Weekend. The Heat experienced the festivities surrounding All-Star Weekend. And the Heat was on the winning side of most of the events during All-Star Weekend.
Not only did Miami have six players representing the organization in Chicago, but Heat rookie guard Kendrick Nunn scored 16 points to help lead Team USA past Team World in the Rising Stars Game on Friday and two of the three All-Star Saturday Night events were won by Heat players. Derrick Jones Jr. took home the Slam Dunk Contest crown and Bam Adebayo won the Skills Challenge.
But that winning theme didn’t continue for the Heat in the All-Star Game, as Team LeBron edged out a 157-155 win over Team Giannis on Sunday at the United Center to cap off All-Star Weekend. The Heat duo of Adebayo and Jimmy Butler both played for Team Giannis.
Adebayo finished his first All-Star Game with eight points on 4-of-5 shooting, two rebounds and one assist in 12 minutes. Butler ended the night with four points on 2-of-2 shooting, three rebounds, two assists and two steals in 13 minutes.
“It hit me toward the end of the game,” Adebayo said of being an All-Star for the first time. “Just looking down the bench and on the court, you start to realize, ‘I’m an All-Star.’ It’s a great experience for me. Just looking forward to being back in this thing. It’s a good experience for everybody.”
It marked the first time the Heat has had at least two of its players actually play in the All-Star Game since the 2013-14 season, when Chris Bosh, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade all logged minutes in the annual showcase game.
Adebayo collected most of his stats early Sunday, scoring eight quick points on 4-of-4 shooting in six minutes of playing time in the first quarter. Adebayo also connected with Jazz center Rudy Gobert on an alley-oop for his lone assist of the period.
Meanwhile, Butler was sloppy to start. The five-time All-Star finished the first quarter with two points and four turnovers.
Adebayo and Butler didn’t do much in the second quarter. In the period, Adebayo did not play and Butler scored two points on one shot in three minutes of court time.
After not playing in the second quarter, Adebayo started the second half. But the third quarter was also quiet for the Heat’s duo, with both Adebayo and Butler going scoreless in the period.
Adebayo and Butler didn’t play in what turned into an intense fourth quarter that included charges, actual defense and even two coach’s challenges because of the new All-Star Game format.
What was the new format? Team Giannis and Team LeBron played for Chicago-based community organizations and the teams competed to win each of the first three quarters. Each of the first three quarters started with the score 0-0 and were 12 minutes long, and the winner of each quarter received $100,000 for its community organization.
At the start of the fourth quarter, the game clock was turned off and a Final Target Score was set. The Final Target Score was determined by taking the leading team’s total cumulative score through three quarters and adding 24 points — the 24 representing the late Kobe Bryant’s jersey number for the final 10 seasons of his NBA career.
The winning team in the NBA All-Star Game (the team that reached the Final Target Score first) earned $200,000 for its community organization.
On Sunday, the Final Target Score was 157 with Team Giannis entering the fourth quarter with a 133-124 lead. But Team LeBron outscored Team Giannis 33-22 to rally for the victory in a competitive fourth, as Team Giannis was held to 5-of-19 shooting in the final quarter.
A 44-minute intro preceded the game, with tip-off coming at 8:44 p.m. after an emotional tribute from Chicago native Jennifer Hudson for Bryant, his daughter Gianna and their seven friends who passed away in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26. Hudson sang “For All We Know” with images of Bryant’s life shown behind her.
Honoring Bryant was a prevalent theme during All-Star Weekend, with players on Team LeBron wearing Gianna’s No. 2 on their jerseys and players on Team Giannis wearing Bryant’s No. 24 on theirs.
Now that All-Star Weekend is over, Adebayo and Butler are looking forward to a few days off before returning to practice Wednesday. The Heat resumes its schedule Thursday against the Hawks in Atlanta.
“More than anything, I really want to go see my family and spend some time with my friends,” Butler said of his plans for the rest of the break. “That’s what I’m locked in on legit for the next two days.”
This story was originally published February 16, 2020 at 11:31 PM.
