Adebayo hits walk-off game-winner to lift Heat past Spurs in San Antonio. Takeaways and details
Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s 105-103 win over the San Antonio Spurs (21-25) on Saturday night at Frost Bank Center to open a four-game trip. The Heat (24-23) now enters a two-day break before continuing its trip on Tuesday against the Bulls in Chicago:
The Heat began a road-heavy stretch in its schedule with a dramatic win fueled by captain and three-time All-Star Bam Adebayo.
Adebayo led the Heat to the win, recording 30 points on 13-of-21 shooting from the field, 2-of-5 shooting on threes and 2-of-2 shooting from the foul line, 13 rebounds, nine assists, two steals and three blocks. It marked the third time that Adebayo has reached the 30-point mark this season, but he finished one assist short of the ninth regular-season triple-double of his NBA career.
Adebayo capped off one of his best performances off the season by hitting a walk-off game-winner Saturday on a side out-of-bounds play drawn up by Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, catching the inbounds pass from Nikola Jovic and dribbled into a 19-foot jumper to break a 103-103 tie with 0.7 seconds left in regulation. Heat teammates mobbed Adebayo on the court in celebration after he hit the shot and the final buzzer sounded.
“Great shot. Buzzer beater. Let’s go home,” Adebayo said after the victory.
According to Couper Moorhead from Heat.com, Adebayo has now made three game-winning, buzzer-beating shots with the Heat during his NBA career. Adebayo is tied with Heat legend Dwyane Wade for the franchise lead in that category.
“I’ve had a couple of those in my career,” Adebayo said. “Being able to be in those situations and to actually get the job done is a great feeling, because my teammates and my coaches trust me to get the job done.”
It was fitting that the game came down to the final shot because both teams traded runs throughout the night.
After a back-and-forth first half that included 14 lead changes and 10 ties, the Heat entered halftime with a 60-56 lead.
The Heat appeared to take control late in the third quarter, pulling ahead by 11 points with 2:20 left in the period. But the Spurs closed the quarter on a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to just three entering the fourth.
The two teams continued to trade punches in a fourth quarter that included two lead changes and six ties.
“They just wouldn’t quit,” Heat guard Terry Rozier said of the Spurs. “Every time we went up six to eight trying to make a push, they kept staying in, they kept fighting. So you got to give them a lot of credit.”
The Spurs took a three-point lead on a three-pointer from Sandro Mamukelashvili with 5:15 to play, but then went cold. San Antonio didn’t score again until there was 1:36 left in the period.
The Heat took advantage to go on a 5-0 run to pull ahead by two points with 2:23 left.
The Spurs came right back and tied the game on two free throws from Chris Paul with 1:36 to play.
The Heat then again pulled ahead by two on a put-back layup from rookie Kel’el Ware with 1:09 left before Paul again tied the score with a six-foot jumper with 59 seconds remaining.
After an empty Heat possession, the Spurs had a chance to take the lead in the final seconds. But Paul missed a jumper with 5.1 seconds to play to keep the score tied at 103.
That’s when Adebayo saved the night for the Heat and clinched the win in dramatic fashion.
Keldon Johnson scored a team-high 19 points for the Spurs, but did it on just 5-of-14 shooting from the field. The Heat’s defense helped limit the Spurs to just 41.8 percent shooting from the field and 12 of 36 (33.3 percent) shooting from three-point range in the game.
Saturday’s win marked the start of a four-game trip and a 10-game stretch that includes nine road games for the Heat.
Even at home against a middling Heat team, the Spurs faced an uphill battle on Saturday.
Not only were the Spurs playing on the second night of a back-to-back set after defeating the Milwaukee Bucks in San Antonio on Friday, but the Spurs were also without their best player against the Heat.
The Spurs added 7-foot-3 center Victor Wembanyama to their injury report just an hour before tipoff on Saturday, listing him as questionable because of an illness. Minutes later, the Spurs ruled out Wembanyama for their matchup against the Heat.
The Spurs entered Saturday’s game an eye-opening 12.6 points per 100 possessions better this season when Wembanyama has been on the court compared to when he hasn’t been on the court.
The Heat — rested after a two-day break between games — took advantage of the short-handed Spurs by earning the road win on Saturday. San Antonio fell to 2-4 in games without Wembanyama this season.
While the Spurs were missing Wembanyama, they had the rest of their usual rotation available against the Heat.
In place of the ill Wembanyama, Charles Bassey made his first start of the season. Bassey contributed nine points and 15 rebounds for the Spurs.
The Heat was without Jimmy Butler (team suspension), Josh Richardson (right heel inflammation), Dru Smith (Achilles surgery) and Isaiah Stevens (G League) against the Spurs.
The Heat survived a rare off night from All-Star guard Tyler Herro.
Herro, who was selected for his first All-Star Game this season, entered Saturday averaging career highs in points (24.1 per game), rebounds (5.6) and assists (5.4) while also shooting a career-best 47.4 percent from the field and a career-best 40 percent from three-point range on a career-high 9.7 three-point attempts per game this season.
Herro has already scored 20 or more points in 32 games this season.
But on Saturday, Herro finished with a season-low 11 points on 4-of-16 shooting from the field, 0-of-8 shooting on threes and 3-of-5 shooting from the foul line in 36 minutes.
The Spurs made it tough on Herro, using rookie guard Stephon Castle to face-guard him for most of the game and sending extra defenders his way whenever he dribbled into the paint.
Without a three-point make on Saturday, Herro’s streak of regular-season games with a made three-pointer ended at 79. It goes down as the longest such streak in Heat history and is tied for the 12th-longest such streak in NBA history.
But Herro still found a way to make an impact, grabbing four rebounds and eight assists. Herro also set the screen on the final possession that got Adebayo open for his game-winner.
Spoelstra and teammates commended Herro’s leadership throughout the game despite his shooting struggles.
“It was the voice of Tyler and Bam, particularly in that fourth quarter. We had to take a couple timeouts, they settled everybody,” Spoelstra said. “... With Tyler, it’s great because it shows that you can impact the game even if you’re having an off shooting night.”
Adebayo added: “He did the little things tonight that didn’t show up in the stat sheet. Being vocal is actually a key component for our team. And for him to become one of these leaders, you see it.”
The Heat continues to stick with same starting lineup, as it searches for stability amid all of the uncertainty.
Butler is still away from the Heat, as he serves his third team-issued suspension of the last month.
Butler, who has made it clear that he wants the Heat to trade him, is suspended by the Heat at least through Thursday’s trade deadline. But the Heat labeled this latest suspension as “indefinite” due “to a continued pattern of disregard of team rules, engaging in conduct detrimental to the team and intentionally withholding services.”
The Heat continues its efforts to trade the disgruntled Butler ahead of the NBA’s trade deadline on Thursday at 3 p.m.
Without Butler, the Heat went with the same starting lineup for the fourth straight game on Saturday against the Spurs: Herro, Duncan Robinson, Haywood Highsmith, Adebayo and Ware.
Through the group’s first three starts of the season, this lineup was outscored by 6.8 points per 100 possessions.
To begin Saturday’s game, the Spurs outscored the Heat’s starting unit 19-18 over the first 6:48 before Miami made its first substitution.
By the end of the night, the Heat’s starting lineup outscored the Spurs by one point in 13 minutes together on Saturday.
Despite the ongoing federal investigation into whether Rozier manipulated his performance in a 2023 game as part of an illegal sports betting scheme, he remained in his usual spot in the Heat’s rotation and turned in a quality performance against the Spurs.
Saturday marked Rozier’s first game since news of the federal investigation surfaced Thursday through reporting by The Wall Street Journal.
But that news didn’t change Rozier’s role on Saturday, as he still was one of the first players used off the Heat’s bench in San Antonio. Rozier closed the win with 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field and 5-of-9 shooting on threes, seven rebounds and four assists in 33 minutes.
Rozier’s shooting efficiency is down this season, but he has now scored double-digit points in four straight games. He’s averaging 17 points per game on efficient 51 percent shooting from the field and 40.9 percent shooting from three-point range during that four-game span.
“I’m about to start heating up, about to start heating up,” Rozier said. “It’s a matter of time. Just stay with it, that’s what I’ve been doing all season. It’ll happen.”
When asked about the federal investigation, Rozier said following Friday’s practice that he couldn’t comment on the topic. “On advice from counsel, I can’t answer any questions about that matter,” Rozier said. “So, I won’t.”
It’s important to note that Rozier has not yet been charged with a crime or accused of wrongdoing.
The investigation into Rozier is part of a larger government probe that led to a criminal charge and lifetime ban from the NBA for Porter. The game being looked at came on March 23, 2023 when Rozier was a member of the Charlotte Hornets.
Rozier was used as part of a Heat bench rotation on Saturday that also included Jovic, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Pelle Larsson. But Larsson played just one minute.
Along with Rozier, Jovic (14 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals) and Jaquez (10 points and six rebounds) scored double-digit points off the Heat’s bench.
This story was originally published February 1, 2025 at 11:05 PM.
