Why no shots for Bam Adebayo in Monday’s fourth quarter? Also, Kyle Lowry on facing Heat and more

With Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson all unavailable for Monday’s fourth quarter because of injuries, All-Star center Bam Adebayo was the Miami Heat’s No. 1 offensive option.

But Adebayo didn’t take a shot in the fourth quarter — not even a free throw. And the Heat had just six points in the final 6:54 of its 98-91 road loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. Adebayo closed the game with 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field, 2-of-2 shooting on threes and 2-of-2 shooting from the foul line, and all of that production came in the first three quarters.

“A lot of moving parts to that,” Adebayo said when asked why he finished the fourth quarter without a shot attempt. “But that’s a Spo question.”

As Duncan Robinson now deals with back issue, injuries continue to mount for Heat late in season

When asked about Adebayo going the entire fourth quarter without a shot, Spoelstra pointed to the 76ers’ defensive scheme. With Adebayo clearly the Heat’s top offensive option amid the team’s injuries, the 76ers packed the paint and sent extra bodies his way to limit his opportunities down the stretch.

“They were packing the paint like crazy, almost daring us to shoot from the three-point line,” Spoelstra said. “We had to shoot some of those just to keep them honest. Post-ups, there really wasn’t anywhere to go. Elbow catches or any kind of pick-and-roll to throw it back to him, there wasn’t anywhere to go because they were just sending multiple defenders into the paint.”

Adebayo spent the first 6:21 of the fourth quarter on the bench after playing 10:12 in the third quarter. He entered to play the final 5:39 of the game and the Heat was outscored 10-6 during that stretch, as the 76ers stretched a three-point lead when Adebayo entered into a seven-point win.

The Heat shot just 3 of 13 from the field and 0 of 6 on threes during the final 5:39 of the game after Adebayo was subbed in. During that span, Jaime Jaquez Jr. was 0 of 4 from the field, Caleb Martin was 2 of 3 from the field, Terry Rozier was 1 of 3 from the field, Patty Mills was 0 of 3 from the field and Adebayo was 0 of 0 from the field.

“Down the stretch, I feel like we had a lot of lapses offensively,” said Adebayo, who hit a buzzer-beating game-winning three-pointer to lift the Heat to a win over the Pistons in Detroit on Sunday. “Over passing the ball, not really being aggressive and taking shots. For us, it’s just getting on the same page.”

NO EXTRA MOTIVATION?

The last time veteran guard Kyle Lowry scored 16 or more points and took 12 more field-goal attempts in a game came in a Dec. 14 loss to the Chicago Bulls as a member of the Heat. Three months later, Lowry hit both of those marks in his first game against the Heat since Miami traded him away in late January.

Lowry, who entered Monday’s matchup against the Heat averaging 7.9 points and 6.2 field-goal attempts per game in his first 11 appearances with the 76ers, finished the win over his former team with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field and 3-of-5 shooting on threes, two steals and one block.

Lowry, 37, made a few important shots in the clutch, too, hitting a three-pointer to put the 76ers ahead by four points with 3:09 to play and then making a layup to extend the 76ers’ lead to six with 1:36 remaining.

Was Monday’s performance a result of extra motivation Lowry had going against the Heat for the first time since the trade? Lowry downplayed that notion.

“I think the juice was that we understand that was a big game for the standings,” Lowry said. “We needed that win for standings purposes. I love and admire those guys so much and I still root for them, except for when I’m playing against them.”

The Heat traded Lowry and a lottery-protected first-round pick to the Charlotte Hornets to acquire Rozier on Jan. 23. Lowry, who is a Philadelphia native, didn’t play in a game for the Hornets after the trade and agreed to a buyout to eventually sign with his hometown 76ers.

Lowry spent some time with his former Heat coaches and teammates following Monday’s game.

THIS AND THAT

▪ Adebayo made multiple threes in a game for the first time in his NBA career, shooting 2 of 2 from three-point range in Monday’s loss. He has now made a three-pointer in four straight games for the first time in his career and is 5 of 5 from deep during that stretch after starting the season just 1 of 14 (7.1 percent) from behind the arc.

▪ Monday marked the Heat’s first loss this season when holding its opponent under 100 points. Miami is now 10-1 this season in those games.

Since Butler joined the Heat prior to the 2019-20 season, the Heat is 73-8 when holding a team under 100 points in the regular season.

▪ According to Basketball Reference’s updated playoff probabilities report, the Heat entered Tuesday with just a 22.6 percent chance of finishing the regular season with a top-six seed in the Eastern Conference and avoiding the NBA’s play-in tournament. The report gives the Heat a 26.2 percent chance of closing the regular season as the East’s No. 7 seed and a 49 percent chance of finishing the regular season as the East’s No. 8 seed.