Heat’s Adebayo becoming Mr. Reliable for Spoelstra; Butler (knee) does not travel to Atlanta – Boston Herald

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Sometimes it is the outside conversation that confirms the ascension.

So even beyond the 38 points that Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo put on the visiting Washington Wizards in Friday night’s 110-107 victory, what might have resonated even more were the postgame comments of Wizards center Kristaps Porzingis.

“I don’t remember,” Porzingis said, “when he played like this.”

Considering Adebayo’s career high is 41, it’s not as if there have been many such games for Adebayo.

But in setting career bests with 22 shots, 15 baskets and 30 points in the paint, it was another sign of a player bent on a more aggressive approach, which has been a point of emphasis this season.

“That’s one of those games where he shows his dominance of a big, and that’s on both ends of the floor,” point guard Kyle Lowry said, with the Heat shifting their focus to Sunday’s 5 p.m. game against the Atlanta Hawks at the start of a four-game trip. “But we don’t want him to have to do it every night, but it’s great to see it. When he can do that, it makes our lives a lot easier.”

To coach Erik Spoelstra, it was another example of Adebayo providing what is needed, in this case with Jimmy Butler, Max Strus, Gabe Vincent and Duncan Robinson out Friday night with injuries, and with Lowry, Caleb Martin and Jamal Cain dealing with a bug that has been going around the locker room.

“Bam was Mr. Reliable,” Spoelstra said. “He has been Mr. Reliable all season long, through all of the adversity. He’s the guy that we’ve just been able to count on, with his mental stability, his consistency, his leadership, and then also his play on both ends of the court.

“I think at some point, I’ll print up the shirt, ‘Mr. Reliable’ and I’ll wear them proudly.”

Adebayo wasn’t having any of that, but he was taking what the Wizards were giving.

“It was one of those things where my teammates were getting me the ball,” he said, “and I was just taking advantage of the mismatch and the shots they were letting me have.”

All while draining a series of floaters over 7-foot-3 Porzingis.

“I mean, I’ve been working on my touch, trick shots, playing h-o-r-s-e, and just practicing those types of extended shots,” Adebayo said.

In adding 12 rebounds, Adebayo moved past Dwyane Wade for fifth place in Heat career double-doubles at 127. Next up is teammate Udonis Haslem at 134. The Heat’s all-time leaders are Rony Seikaly at 221, Alonzo Mourning at 205 and Hassan Whiteside at 185.

“They wanted him to be aggressive in the beginning, and he did that, and it worked well for him,” Porzingis said.

Injury report

Butler (knee) did not travel with the team Saturday, but the expectation (or at least hope) is rejoining the team possibly for Wednesday’s game against the Boston Celtics.

The only other player who did not travel was center Omer Yurtseven, who is recovering from ankle surgery. That means Victor Oladipo, sidelined since the preseason with knee discomfort, again is on the road with the team.

Ten players are on the formal injury report for Sunday’s game.

Out: Butler (knee), Oladipo (knee), Yurtseven (ankle).

Questionable: Martin (illness), Dewayne Dedmon (foot), Vincent (knee), Tyler Herro (ankle), Strus (shoulder), Robinson (ankle).

Probable: Cain (illness).

Straight up

Given the chance to commit a two-shot foul against Bradley Beal in a three-point game at Friday’s finish, Martin said there was no thought but to play it straight up, with Beal off with a 26-foot, step-back potential tying 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds remaining.

“I didn’t really think about fouling,” Martin said. “I take pride in trying to get stops. As a defender, those are the type of matchups and situations that you dream about — game on the line, go against a guy like Bradley Beal with the ball, late shot clock. Those are the types of plays I dream about.”

Martin closed with 20 points in the victory, giving him consecutive 20-point games for the first time in his four-season career, after scoring 24 in Wednesday’s home victory over the Wizards.

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