Bam Adebayo’s 83-Point Night Surpasses Kobe Bryant’s 81 Amid Foul-Heavy Controversy

Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo scored 83 points against the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night, eclipsing Kobe Bryant’s iconic 81-point game from January 2006 and claiming the second-highest single-game total in NBA history behind Wilt Chamberlain’s 100.

The performance — which came in a 150-129 Heat win, their sixth straight — was historic in volume and controversial in just about every other dimension.

Adebayo attempted 43 free throws, making 36. Both are league records. He shot 20 of 43 from the field and 7 of 22 from three-point range. By comparison, Bryant went 28 of 46 from the floor (60.9 percent), 7 of 13 from deep, and 18 of 20 from the line in his 81-point night against the Toronto Raptors in 2006. Nearly half of Adebayo’s points came from the stripe.

The context made it harder to celebrate. The Wizards are in full tank mode. The Heat were up 27 with under two minutes remaining when coach Erik Spoelstra left Adebayo in the game, and the Heat coaching staff could be seen instructing players to foul — stopping the clock to create more possessions for Adebayo to pad his total. Play-by-play announcer Eric Reid told viewers that Adebayo was set to exit at 81, which would have matched Bryant’s mark as a tribute. He didn’t exit. He stayed, hit two more free throws with 1:16 left, and departed with 83.