MIAMI — The Miami Heat led the Washington Wizards by 25 points with 2:56 left. The game was essentially over, the outcome decided. And Bam Adebayo got called for an offensive foul that, under normal circumstances, would not have mattered.These were not normal circumstances.Adebayo already had 77 points on Tuesday night and the Heat wanted more. So, coach Erik Spoelstra emphatically challenged that offensive foul call. Every Heat player, assistant coach and staffer jumped off the bench, celebrating that decision. The challenge failed — refs got the call right — but it was clear what the moment meant to Miami.Adebayo wound up scoring 83 points. It was the second-highest total by any player in any game in NBA history, passing Kobe Bryant’s 81 and trailing only Wilt Chamberlain’s 100.“The thing you love about it, and why everybody roots for Bam, is because he does all the winning things,” Spoelstra said. “He does the things that aren’t recognized. He puts his body out there, he’s available, he is a rugged competitor.”The Heat, who won 150-129, obviously loved it. Not everybody did.There were immediate detractors who pointed to Adebayo’s absurd, one-of-a-kind stat line — 43 field goal attempts, 22 3-point attempts and, most of all, NBA records of 36 free throws and 43 attempts — as proof of stat-padding. Some even went as far as to question the integrity of the game, though to be fair, many also celebrated Adebayo’s night.“Look, bruh had 83 points. Bruh shot 43 foul shots,” former Heat point guard Jason Williams sai …
