Getty Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo (R) revealed late in the game against the Chicago Bulls that he and Jimmy Butler (L) showed aggression in the huddle.
Despite having a 24-point lead over the Chicago Bulls during the first half of the game, the Miami Heat nearly blew it all in the fourth quarter at the AmericanAirlines Arena on Saturday night. Fueling Miami to eke out a 106-101 win over the Bulls, aggression from the team’s two biggest stars.
During the postgame conference, Bam Adebayo revealed that he and fellow All-Star Jimmy Butler “cursed each other out in the huddle.” When Adebayo was asked to further detail their heated interaction, Butler interrupted from off-camera yelling, “That’s between me and Bam. Stop being nosy. Next question!”
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🚨Warning: This is not the most conventional postgame interview you’ve seen from @Bam1of1.
With the help of @JimmyButler, they told the media to stop being so nosy about what gets said between the two of them. It’s classic Jimmy and Bam.😂
Adebayo and Butler’s playfulness was on full display during the postgame conference, and it’s safe to assume the two were cursing each other out in a positive way, to hype the team up and finish strong.
Adebayo, who scored 20 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds against the Bulls, commented on the too close for comfort final score. “We don’t care if we win by half a point. We had to win this game.”
It’s safe to say @Bam1of1 was unstoppable at the rim last night
“Just win,” Butler said, “That’s what it is. We had a little bit of a lapse,” referring to the team’s fourth-quarter collapse, but “we won. So not complaining.”
Miami’s win against the Bulls comes one day after the Heat’s embarrassing loss to Atlanta, which handed the Hawks the head-to-head season playoff tiebreaker.”There was definitely an edge, an angst about trying to do whatever we had to do to get this win tonight,” Heat’s head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “And that’s simply just how it has to be the rest of the year.”
Butler & Adebayo Have a History Showing Each Other Tough Love
GettyHeat stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo have developed a natural chemistry.
Butler 31, is one of the biggest supporters of Adebayo, 23, but on April 16, he was overcome with frustration following the Heat’s loss 119-111 to Minnesota, the team with the worst record in the NBA.
The five-time All-Star directly addressed Adebayo, who only took eight shot attempts against the Timberwolves. Butler said he wants him to attack the rim more because “nobody can stay in front of him… I love him shooting mid-range jump shots too, but he lets people off the hook. Play bully ball. I like bully ball.”
The very next night, while Butler sat out Sunday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets with an ankle sprain, Adebayo’s game-winning shot proved that he took his teammate’s message as tough love — a lesson learned.
LADIES AND GENTLEMAN… BAM ADEBAYO!
“I talked to Jimmy, he does want me to be more aggressive,” Adebayo said. “I just got to find that balance when me and him are on the court together because you know me, I like to pass. I just be trying to get him involved so much that I forget about me and mine. So he’s been harping on me about that. So that’s the narrative.”
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