Miami Heat Playoffs: Victor Oladipo And Bam Adebayo Lead Them To Game 5 Win

The Miami Heat had a difficult task in front of them heading into Tuesday night’s Game 5 matchup with the Atlanta Hawks. Facing off against a Hawks team on the brink of elimination in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, that should have already made the task hard enough.

Then, just mere hours before tipoff, they would find out that Jimmy Butler wouldn’t be going for them in the contest. That’s on top of the fact that Kyle Lowry would also be missing his second consecutive game in a row due to a Game 3 hamstring issue.

All was well though. Though it would be more closely contested than it would have been if the Heat were at full strength, the Miami Heat still had enough to win.

From the tremendous depth they’ve shown all year, to the uber talent they would still put on the floor in guys like Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo, all to go along with their super-secret weapon on the year, Victor Oladipo, things would be fine.

At least, they should have been.

Miami Heat Playoffs: Victor Oladipo And Bam Adebayo Lead Them To Game 5 Win

That’s just what happened too, as the Miami Heat would finish the Hawks off, 97-94, in a Game 5 that came down to the last few plays.

In the process, the Heat would continue to harass Trae Young, as they had all series, holding him to just 11 points, eight rebounds, and six assists on 2-1 shooting from the floor and 0-5 from range in Game 5.

He would also finish this contest with six giveaways for his team.

Enough about how they clamped the other team’s best player though, here’s how the Miami Heat’s two leading scorers played on the night.

In a resurging performance, Victor Oladipo continued to build upon his regular season-ending performance against his former team, the Orlando Magic. He would be joined in the heavy lifting by his fellow teammate of Nigerian heritage in Adebayo.

They both had their hands all over the game but like the best players tend to and need to do, they would make their biggest plays in the biggest moments of the game.

Miami Heat Playoffs: Oladipo And Adebayo Stepped Up Big In Game 5

Victor Oladipo would get the Heat several huge buckets in this one. It would start from the very onset and go on throughout.

This included their first three-point make of the game to unclog them from range. It also featured Dipo’s creation of a big play off of the dribble, leading to a dropoff pass and wide-open dunk for a Bam Adebayo.

That happened with just a minute left in the game to give the Heat more breathing room to close it.

Needless to say, he was huge for the Miami Heat, crucial, and clutch. Oladipo would finish the game with 23 points, three assists, a rebound, three steals, and two giveaways on 8-16 shooting from the field and 3-6 from range.

Not bad at all for a guy in his situation. As far as his cohort in the above play, Bam Adebayo, he would also have his best game of the series when his team needed it the most.

He would finish the contest with 20 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, a steal, and a block with three giveaways on 7-11 shooting from the field. Even outside of those two, the rest of the Heat team and depth came up big too, with five guys finishing in double figures scoring.

This one was a big one for the Heat and for a few reasons. First off, they got to close the series, then to get it without so much of their production on the floor, and lastly while whomever their competition will be in the next round still has work to do to even get there.

It’s really a beautiful thing. Now, they can get some rest, get healthier, and focus on the rest of the mission at hand.