Bam Adebayo scored a game-high 26 points and grabbed eight rebounds, leading the host Miami Heat to a 138-119 win over the short-handed Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.
Tyler Herro added 24 points and six assists for the Heat, who have won five of their past seven games.
Miami’s Jimmy Butler produced 23 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Butler sank 11 of 12 free throws.
It was just the eighth double-digit win for the Heat this season. It was also Miami’s highest-scoring game of the campaign and its best shooting effort (59.8 percent).
Miami improved to 24-13 at home while beating Memphis for just the second time in the past seven matchups.
Memphis fell to 13-22 on the road. The Grizzlies are just 2-12 in their past 14 road contests.
Jaren Jackson Jr. led the Grizzlies on Wednesday with 25 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
However, Memphis’ second-leading scorer, Desmond Bane, was ejected with 6:44 left in the third quarter after he hit Kevin Love in the groin as the Miami forward dribbled past him. It was ruled a flagrant foul, penalty two” and Bane finished with 11 points in 22 minutes.
The Grizzlies, whose three-game winning streak ended, already were playing without superstar guard Ja Morant (suspension), starting center Steven Adams (knee) and sixth man Brandon Clarke (Achilles).
Butler had a 14-point first quarter as Miami led 29-27 after the opening 12 minutes. Butler made 8 of 9 free throws in the period, while the entire Memphis team went 0-for-1 from the line.
Jackson, who had a strong first quarter with 12 points, was held to two in the second as the Heat took a 63-51 lead into halftime. Free throws were the biggest story in the first half as Miami got 19 of them, making 17. Memphis got just three foul shots, making two.
Miami essentially clinched the game in the third quarter, taking a 105-77 lead. The Heat shot 76.2 percent in the period, closing the frame on a 14-0 run.
The game was never close in the fourth quarter, with the Heat’s lead topping out at 28 points.
For the game, Miami outscored Memphis 27-9 at the foul line.
–Field Level Media
