The Miami Heat learned shortly before tip-off center Bam Adebayo was out of the lineup.
That was all guard Kyle Lowry needed.
He took it upon himself to make up for Adebayo’s absence by scoring 28 points in the Heat’s victory Wednesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“When Bam said he was out, I knew it was an opportunity for me to step up and get some good shots,” Lowry said in the postgame interview. “When we’re small like this and we don’t have Bam, we’ve got to get more threes up. It’s a good win on the road against a really good team.”
Adebayo missed the game with a bruised hip, leaving more touches for Lowry. He responded by making 7 out of 10 from three-point range.
“Jimmy was guarding Darius Garland,” Lowry said. “So I knew I would have some open eyes up ahead… You can’t replace Bam. He’s an irreplaceable basketball player. For me, it was just going out there and trying to get a few more open looks.”
After enduring much criticism from fans, Lowry gave them a vintage performance. It was another chance to see “Kyle Chaos,” as coach Erik Spoelstra likes to call it.
“Kyle was terrific with his pace,” Spoelstra said. “It’s just the three-point shooting. His pace was fantastic; he never let the defense get set. He was getting us into early actions, and Kyle Chaos was in so many different possessions. We really need him to be aggressive and assertive as often as he can.”
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