MIAMI — Bam Adebayo scored the Miami Heat’s first 10 points of the fourth quarter Friday night with Giannis Antetokounmpo on the bench. Miami led the Cleveland Cavaliers by one entering the period and won 133-121 at Kaseya Center, with Adebayo and Antetokounmpo finishing with 37 points apiece.
Adebayo scored 18 in the fourth quarter and finished with 14 rebounds on 13-of-19 shooting without a turnover. Antetokounmpo made 15 of 20 shots and grabbed 9 rebounds. They became the first Heat teammates to score at least 35 points in the same game since LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in 2013.
Miami reached .500 for the first time at 6-6 after opening the season 0-4. The Heat are 2-0 in East Group B of the NBA Cup. Cleveland fell to 6-7 and 1-1 in group play.
Cleveland led 57-54 at halftime. Antetokounmpo scored 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting in the third quarter, two of those baskets coming on alley-oops from Davion Mitchell 64 seconds apart, and three-pointers from Ryan Conwell and Andrew Wiggins in the final 1:14 sent the Heat into the fourth with a 92-91 lead.
Adebayo opened the fourth with a 13-foot pull-up and a 12-foot jumper, then scored on a driving layup and made the free throw after Donovan Mitchell fouled him. An away-from-play free throw and another pull-up gave him 10 straight Miami points. Conwell’s 27-footer with 8:05 left completed an 11-0 run for a 105-93 lead.
Adebayo was also directing Miami’s zone defense, getting teammates into position during the stretch. Asked about those first minutes of the fourth, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said he had brought them up with the team in the locker room.
“He was a force of will, competitive will on both ends of the court. He was quarterbacking everything for us defensively,” Spoelstra said.
Bam Adebayo, Giannis Antetokounmpo Give Miami Heat An Advantage Inside
Davion Mitchell tied his career high with 17 assists, committed one turnover and scored 22 points. Conwell added 20 off the bench, making 4 of 9 three-point attempts.
Miami finished with a 56-40 advantage in the paint and 21 second-chance points to Cleveland’s 4. Adebayo and Antetokounmpo accounted for 23 of the Heat’s 46 rebounds.
“Feel like we can really be dominant when we bring that type of force to the game and make plays, and obviously score the basketball,” Adebayo said.
Adebayo had 14 points in the quarter when Antetokounmpo returned with 5:01 left and Miami leading 115-103. Cleveland cut into that lead over the next three minutes. Tyrese Proctor made a three-pointer with 4:07 left, and Donovan Mitchell hit turnaround jumpers on consecutive possessions, the second making it 120-114 with 2:07 remaining.
Davion Mitchell made two free throws before Miami successfully challenged a shooting foul called on Wiggins against James Harden with 1:42 left. The overturned call kept Harden from taking three free throws. Antetokounmpo then made four free throws in a 12-second stretch, and Adebayo added a 21-foot pull-up with 31.1 seconds remaining.
Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with 25 points. Proctor scored 22 off the bench, Harden had 20 points and 8 assists, and Jaylon Tyson scored 16 while starting in place of Evan Mobley.
Mobley missed his first game of the season with a sprained left great toe. Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said the MRI was clean and addressed the expected recovery afterward.
“Sprained, definitely sore, but we don’t expect it to be a long-term thing at all,” Atkinson said.
Miami hosts the Detroit Pistons on Saturday at 7 p.m. CT. Cleveland hosts the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT.
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