Bam Adebayo Makes History as Heat Beat Washington Wizards, 150-129

Tuesday night proved to be the night of the big men to start after Alex Sarr and Bam Adebayo went at it on the floor. But it would be the Adebayo and the Miami Heat who got the last laugh after the Washington Wizards dropped the ninth consecutive game. The Heat dominated and led by as many as 27 points before taking a 150-129 finish in Miami.

And Adebayo did so by making NBA history.

Bam Adebayo finished with 83 points on 20-of-43 shooting from the field and 36-of-43 from the free throw line, passing the late Kobe Bryant for the second-most points scored in a game in NBA history. Adebayo also set a record after scoring 31 points in the first quarter, marking the most by a center in NBA history along with a Heat record for points in a quarter. He personally outscored Washington, 31-29, by the first break.

Entering the night on a minutes restriction, Sarr finished with 28 points on 12-of-19 shooting from the field, including 4-of-7 from three, while adding six rebounds and a pair of blocks in just under 20 minutes. Sarr had 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field to go with six rebounds at halftime.

Will Riley posted his third 20-point game during his rookie season, finishing with 22 points on 6-of-13 shooting including 4-of-7 from  three. Tre Johnson also posted 17 points behind three made threes. Over his last three games, Johnson has made 12 of his 23 three point attempts.

Trae Young was also ruled out ahead of tipoff due to right knee injury management.

It marked an encouraging start given Sarr and Adebayo were trading shots as the Wizards remained competitive, but Adebayo never stopped to power the heat to a comfortable double digit lead through the first quarter.

But as Adebayo broke 70 points, the final minutes of the fourth quarter turned into a free throw shooting contest as the Heat looked to get their star center the record. Miami turned to intentional fouls against the Wizards in hopes of getting more possessions for Bam, ultimately helping him eclipse 80 points exclusively at the free throw line. Washington countered by double, then triple teaming Adebayo as the Heat tried to inbound the ball.

Adebayo's last made shot came with 3:26 left after making a layup, scoring his next seven points from the free throw line before exiting the game with less than two minutes remaining.

Now 16-64 on the season, Washington will face the Orlando Magic on Thursday, March 12 for a 7 PM ET tipoff in game two of a three game road trip.