Bucks coach Doc Rivers started his postgame press conference on Tuesday night with a question.
“Is it true a human being had 83 points tonight?” Rivers asked.
The answer, of course, is yes. Miami’s Bam Adebayo scored 83 on Tuesday night in a win over Washington, giving the Heat center the second-highest scoring game in NBA history, trailing only Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point domination in 1962.
“Wow,” Rivers said on Tuesday in reference to Adebayo. “That’s unbelievable. That’s who we play next. Now I get to watch the prep tape. It will be interesting.”
Indeed, Milwaukee will visit Miami on Thursday night. To use the word Rivers mentioned, it will be “interesting” to see what Adebayo can do for an encore two nights after playing 42 minutes. Perhaps he will be exhausted against the Bucks, who have lost six of their past seven games.
The Bucks — when everything is running smoothly — are led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has missed 30 of Milwaukee’s 64 games this season due to injuries.
Antetokounmpo, who has finished top seven in the NBA’s MVP voting for nine straight years, has played in four of the past five Bucks games, logging 32 minutes in a 129-114 loss to Phoenix on Tuesday.
But even in that game, there were a couple of injury scares involving Antetokounmpo.
“I was scared,” Rivers said after Antetokounmpo fell in the first half. “But he said he was fine. He just tripped over a guy’s foot. And then (later), he got hit in the groin.”
Besides that, Antetokounmpo — who scored 22 points against the Suns — was “winded” trying to keep up with the fast Phoenix pace.
That’s understandable because Antetokounmpo had missed 15 consecutive games before this recent period of improved health.
In general, Rivers expressed concern with Milwaukee’s depth due to injuries to Kevin Porter Jr. (knee), Bobby Portis (back) and Jericho Sims (knee).
Antetokounmpo leads Milwaukee in scoring (27.4) and rebounding (9.8). Porter leads the team in assists (7.4) and steals (2.2). Portis, who averages 13.3 points, provides the team with toughness.
Kyle Kuzma, who averages 13.4 points, scored 33 against Phoenix.
Myles Turner may draw the assignment of guarding Adebayo, who is averaging 20.0 points, third on the Heat behind Norman Powell (22.6) and Tyler Herro (22.1). Andrew Wiggins is fourth on the Heat in scoring (15.9).
On Tuesday, all three other than Adebayo sat out due to injuries: Powell (groin), Herro (quadriceps) and Wiggins (toe).
Powell and Wiggins are listed as out for Thursday, but Herro is day-to-day.
The Heat, who have won six consecutive games, tying their season high, may need extra heroics from Adebayo on Thursday. Still, it’s probably safe to say he won’t reach 83 points, which was two more than Kobe Bryant’s career high.
“I feel light-headed,” Adebayo said after his game on Tuesday. “Wilt, me and Kobe — that’s crazy. It’s surreal to be in the company of Kobe, someone I idolized growing up.”
While basketball purists might be upset that Adebayo stayed in for nearly the entirety of a 150-129 blowout just to chase down Bryant, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra didn’t offer any apologies.
“When Bam got to 50, I said, ‘Alright, maybe he can get 60.’ When he got to 60, he kept on going,” Spoelstra said. “We might as well go for 70. I didn’t even dare even think about taking him out.”
Spoelstra said Adebayo is one of the top-three two-way players in the NBA.
“This is a moment we’ll never forget,” Spoelstra said. “You love him and you want great things for people you really love. What a night for him, his family and the Heat fan base.”
