When You Score 83 Points In A Game And Nobody Cares

TL;DR

Bam Adebayo scored 83 points — the second most in NBA history — but the Heat's shameless final-minutes stat-padding overshadowed the entire performance.

Key Points

• 1.Bam scored 31 points in Q1, 43 by halftime, and 62 through three quarters — each the second-highest total in NBA history at those intervals, all within normal game flow.
• 2.At 70 points with ~9 minutes left and Miami up big, Bam had a natural, ethical stopping point — but the Heat chose to keep him in and manufacture more points.
• 3.The final 13 points came almost entirely from intentional Wizards fouling, Heat players chucking unnecessary threes, and even an intentional missed free throw to get the ball back to Bam.
• 4.Bam finished with the most free throw attempts and makes in a single game in NBA history, and the fifth most three-point attempts — most of the attempts were shot just to force fouls or get possessions back.
• 5.The creator draws a direct parallel to Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game in 1962, noting the Warriors used the identical tactics — intentional fouls, intentional missed free throws — arguing if Bam's 83 is illegitimate, so is Wilt's 100.
• 6.Despite the controversy, Bam's game scored as the sixth-best single-game performance in NBA history by the game score metric, and the creator argues every player in the league would have done the same if their coach allowed it.