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Bam Adebayo and the Miami Heat are in a seesaw battle against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of the NBA Finals. After a quick start by the Heat, the Nuggets have crawled back into the game.
With the score tied at 42, a highlight reel happened that had the Miami crowd up on their feet:
Caleb Martin, who is having his best game in the series, drove into the lane but missed a layup. After challenging Martin's shot, Jokic couldn't get back quickly enough to snare the rebound.
Adebayo, who was looking at the action around the free throw line, had a free runway to swoop in for the thunderous dunk. Miami's All-Star center finished with a double-double in the first half. He had 13 points, 10 rebounds and 1 block.
Nikola Jokic was even better in the first 24 minutes of the game, though. The two-time MVP had 14 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists as the Nuggets took a 53-48 halftime lead.
The Miami Heat continued to allow Bam Adebayo as the fulcrum of the offense on numerous plays. He has been adept in finding cutters and open teammates as he squares up in front of Jokic in the elbow.
Adebayo had several passes that his teammates couldn't convert to points. It was part of the reason why the Heat trailed by as many as 21 points in the game. When the big man is having a poor shooting night and the Heat can't take advantage of his precise passing, they are almost always in trouble.
Bam Adebayo struggled in the second half against Nikola Jokic
After putting up 13 first-half points, Bam Adebayo could only add two more to his total in the third quarter. He didn't have a single rebound, assist or block to add to his tally.
With Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets trying to run away from the Miami Heat, Adebayo improved his play in the fourth period. He eventually finished the night with 22 points, 17 rebounds, three assists and one block.
Bam Adebayo did battle under the boards even on the offensive end where he had six boards. He just couldn't consistently get his shots to fall as he was 7-21 from the field. If not for his 8-10 free throws, his numbers would have looked even worse.
