SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Bam Adebayo had 26 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Miami Heat to a 147-116 victory over the Utah Jazz on Saturday night.
Nikola Jovic added 23 points and Pelle Larsson had 20 as the Heat matched their most points in a game this season. Miami beat Denver 147-123 last month.
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Miami Heat guard Pelle Larsson (9) drives to the basket against Utah Jazz guard Ace Bailey (19) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)
Utah Jazz forward Brice Sensabaugh (28) shots a three point basket over Miami Heat guard Norman Powell (24) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)
Utah Jazz center Jusuf Nurkic (30) rebounds the ball to complete a triple double against the Miami Heat during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)
Utah Jazz forward Brice Sensabaugh (28) goes to the basket against Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) shoots the ball over Utah Jazz center Jusuf Nurkic (30) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)
The Heat, who are 2-2 on their five-game West Coast road trip, narrowly ended its streak of nine straight games allowing 117 points or more.
Jusuf Nurkic had 17 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds to become the first player in Jazz history with three consecutive triple-doubles. He had only one triple-double in his career before this streak, and the last came on Jan. 16, 2019, while playing for Portland.
Brice Sensabaugh scored 23 points for the Jazz, which has lost six of seven. Keyonte George finished with 19 points.
The Heat took the lead for good with 6:44 remaining in the first quarter and cruised to a 73-52 lead at halftime.
Miami made 19 3-pointers compared to the Jazz's seven and and outrebounded Utah 64 to 34.
Heat: Play at Phoenix on Sunday night.
Jazz: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
Miami Heat guard Pelle Larsson (9) drives to the basket against Utah Jazz guard Ace Bailey (19) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)
Utah Jazz forward Brice Sensabaugh (28) shots a three point basket over Miami Heat guard Norman Powell (24) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)
Utah Jazz center Jusuf Nurkic (30) rebounds the ball to complete a triple double against the Miami Heat during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)
Utah Jazz forward Brice Sensabaugh (28) goes to the basket against Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) shoots the ball over Utah Jazz center Jusuf Nurkic (30) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)
MIAMI (AP) — Bam Adebayo's encore performance: 21 points.
Adebayo — in the game after his 83-point outburst — settled for 62 fewer points Thursday night, when he and the Miami Heat defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 112-105 for their seventh consecutive win.
Adebayo's stat line: 6 for 20 from the field, 9 for 13 from the foul line and 0 for 5 from 3-point range in 35 minutes.
And he was exhausted, as would be expected.
“To be able to move onto the next game, get the win and figure it out in a different way ... it wasn’t 83 tonight. It was 21,” Adebayo said, describing the 48 hours between Tuesday's game and Thursday's game as an emotional roller-coaster. “And if anybody’s upset, I don’t care.”
It was nothing like the 20-for-43 shooting from the field, 36-for-43 from the foul line, 7-for-22 from 3-point range effort that he turned in Tuesday in a win over the Washington Wizards for the No. 2 single-game scoring effort — behind only Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point night — in NBA history.
But he came up big when Miami needed it the most, getting 12 of his points in the fourth quarter against the Bucks.
“He has the ultimate mental toughness, and that’s what separates the great competitors in this league," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "I’m not talking about the great scorers, just the great winning players. Just lock in on the task at hand, regardless of what’s happened for the first three quarters, whether it’s gone according to plan, whether it has gone smoothly or not.”
Pelle Larsson had a career-high 28 points and Kasparas Jakučionis scored 18 for Miami, and those efforts were needed.
“Man, I'm thankful for my teammates,” Adebayo said. “They stepped up in a big way. ... Tonight it was Pelle and Kas, and sort of me.”
The Heat had a slew of celebrations in Adebayo’s honor, some of which started Wednesday when the team unveiled $83 jerseys, $13 tickets (in honor of his actual jersey number) and even started assembling Adebayo No. 83 jerseys.
“I haven't seen them yet,” Adebayo said.
They exist, and as he walked out of the locker room Thursday night some fans at the other end of a corridor saw him. They starting yelling right away.
Not his name. They were yelling “83.”
“You live in the moment," Adebayo said. “Every time you get a chance to see it, hear it, you grasp it.”
On the concourses Thursday — from the time the doors opened until, of course, 8:30 p.m. — the team was selling 83-cent popcorn, chips or can of soda at some kiosks, and an $8.30 meal deal that included a hot dog, popcorn and fountain drink.
“You feel awesome for Bam," Spoelstra said. "You feel so great for his story, how he’s gotten to this point. And you feel great for his family, his mom, A'ja (Wilson, his four-time WNBA MVP girlfriend), his whole circle. Just quality human beings. They make you want to root for that whole team.”
Adebayo remains the only player in the NBA to have 100 points in a two-game span this season. He's actually done it twice: he had 24 points in the game before the 83-pointer (for a 107-point total) and now has a 104-point, two-game stretch as well.
His showing Tuesday was still the talk of the league on Thursday, and Bucks coach Doc Rivers thinks it's a night that will be talked about for a long time.
“It was just one of those rare nights where a great guy — that’s what Bam is — had a great night and it was all good," Rivers said. "That’s the way I looked at it.”
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Miami Heat teammates celebrate center Bam Adebayo, right, after he scored 83 points, the second-highest single game total in NBA history, in an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) is congratulated by forward Keshad Johnson (16) after reaching 83 points, the second-highest single game total in NBA history, in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) shoots a free throw to reach 83 points, the second-highest single game total in NBA history, in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo warms up before a game against the Milwaukee Bucks Thursday, March 12, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo warms up before a game against the Milwaukee Bucks Thursday, March 12, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
