The Miami Heat sent the Washington Wizards packing with a 118-98 win in Mexico City on Saturday night. Bam Adebayo showed up with a much-needed bounce-back performance, as the big man led the Heat in scoring with 32 points to improve to 3-2 on the season.
Here's what I saw on the hardwood:
The Good: Third Quarter
Through their first four games, the Heat had been outscored by a combined 43 points in the third quarter, as they were unable to find any rhythm coming out of the locker room.
That changed Saturday night as the Heat outscored the Wizards 33-22 in the third, extending the lead as high as 22.
Rather than letting Washington chip away at the lead and make it a competitive game, Miami remained in control and effectively sealed the game before the fourth quarter started. If the Heat are to have hopes of winning against better opponents, they'll need this same second-half tempo, shot creation, and defensive intensity.
That was nice to see in action on Saturday, and hopefully, they will build on that strong third period this Monday night against the Kings.
The Bad: Jaime Jaquez Jr. in Mexico
With so much going right for Miami in this win over Washington, perhaps something disappointing was Jaime Jaquez Jr. as he had a somewhat underwhelming performance, considering the importance of this game to him.
Jaquez's Mexican heritage excited the crowd, and his presence on the roster is most likely the reason the Heat were featured in the 2024 Mexico City game. Given the excitement when taking the floor, eight points on 4-of-12 shooting felt a bit like a letdown. Still, it was exciting to see the crowd passionate about one of their own, erupting as he checked into the game and made plays.
The Beautiful: Bam Adebayo's Statement Performance
The story following the Heat's second loss on Wednesday to the Knicks was yet another poor performance from Bam Adebayo. In the Heat’s first two losses, Bam scored just 20 points on 4-of-12 shooting and came into this game averaging just 11 points per game.
There definitely was an emphasis on getting him more shots, and it paid off. He finished with 32 points on 24 shots, making half of them. Aggressive from the tip to the final buzzer, he was at his best scoring at all three levels, getting three 3-pointers with three emphatic dunks. He did not simply play well, he dominated both sides of the floor.
This is the version of Adebayo that the Heat need to see on a regular basis.