The Miami Heat and center Bam Adebayo drew mixed reactions after Tuesday's game against the Washington Wizards. 

Adebayo had a career-high 83 points in the victory. It is the second-highest total in NBA history, trailing only Wilt Chamberlain's 100 points. Adebayo surpassed Kobe Bryant, who scored 81 against the Toronto Raptors. 

While some were critical of the Heat going after the performance, Brian Windhorst of ESPN had no issues with it. 

"It's a special moment," Windhorst said on the Hoop Collective podcast. "I would say this: Bam has gold medals. He's been in a couple of Finals. He will always have this. This will always be remembered. And you know what, seven, eight, 12, 15 years from now, people are not going to remember that they fouled at the end of the game." 

Many fans were upset at the Heat for extending the game by fouling late. They also didn't like the fact Adebayo shot 43 free throws. 

"How many Kobe fans out there in that arena who are pissed off, how many of them will remember how many Kobe took in the fourth quarter when he scored 81," Windhorst said. "That whole fourth quarter was free throws for him."

Still, not everyone agreed with Windhorst. On the same podcast, Tim McMahon had a completely different take on the situation. He said the Heat's reputation took a hit after building themselves up as a top-tier organization. McMahon called it one of the worst stat-padding situations he's ever witnessed. 

"I'll admit I was cracking up laughing while watching but I never want to hear about Heat Culture and professional and all that crap again," McMahon said. "That was the most blatant stat-chasing I've ever seen. It was the worst stat-chasing since Ricky Davis tried to get a rebound on the wrong basketball to get a triple-double. The difference is this was minutes and minutes to extend the game stat-chasing. I enjoyed the 39 by [Victor Wembanayama] than the egregious 83 but I'm old, I'm grumpy. I admit it."

 Regardless, it was a special night for the Heat, the NBA and fans of basketball. 

Don't miss out on our ROUNDTABLE community and the latest news!

It's completely free to join. Share your thoughts, engage with our Roundtable writers, and chat with fellow members.

Download the free Roundtable APP, and stay even more connected!

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of HeatRoundtable. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com