![\"Bam](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2271377519.jpg\" "\\"Bam")
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Bam Adebayo #13 of the Miami Heat reacts after a fall in the first half against the Charlotte Hornets during their game at Spectrum Center on April 14, 2026 in Charlotte, North Carolina.<\/p>\n
Jacob Kupferman<\/p>\n
Getty Images<\/p>\n
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA<\/p>\n
The Miami Heat was angry after Tuesday\u2019s season-ending loss.<\/p>\n
Not just because the season is over, but because of the way Heat captain and three-time All-Star center Bam Adebayo suffered an injury that forced him to miss most of Tuesday night\u2019s heartbreaking 127-126 season-ending overtime loss to the Charlotte Hornets at Spectrum Center.<\/p>\n
Adebayo exited Tuesday\u2019s win-or-go-home play-in tournament game with 10:58 left in the second quarter and never returned after suffering a lower back injury on a hard fall. A replay showed Hornets guard LaMelo Ball, while on his back on the court, taking a swipe at Adebayo\u2019s sneaker and tripping him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s cute. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s funny,\u201d Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said following Tuesday\u2019s defeat. \u201cI think it\u2019s a stupid play. It\u2019s a dangerous play. Obviously, our best player was out. I\u2019m not making an excuse. The Hornets played great, and they made those plays down the stretch. We had our opportunities to win. That\u2019s a shame.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spoelstra continued to express his anger and frustration over Ball\u2019s trip of Adebayo throughout his postgame press conference.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe should be penalized for that,\u201d Spoelstra said of Ball. \u201cI don\u2019t think that belongs in the game, tripping guys, shenanigans. [Official Curtis Blair] was there. It\u2019s his responsibility to see that. And if it\u2019s not his responsibility, then [official Zach Zarba] has got to see it. Somebody has got to see that. He should have been thrown out of the game for that. I don\u2019t know him from anyone. There\u2019s no place in the game for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
After the game, Ball used his postgame press conference to apologize to Adebayo and claim it wasn\u2019t intentional.<\/p>\n
\u201cI apologize on that one,\u201d said Ball, who scored a game-high 30 points to lead the Hornets to Tuesday\u2019s play-in tournament win over the Heat. \u201cI got hit in the head, didn\u2019t really know where I was. But I\u2019m going to check on him and see if he\u2019s OK and everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adebayo declined to speak to the media following Tuesday\u2019s season-ending loss.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was crazy,\u201d Heat guard Tyler Herro said. \u201cI\u2019ve played with Bam for a long time now and I usually never really seen him like limp like that. He\u2019s usually a guy who just stays in. So that tells you how much pain he was in. He can still barely walk back there. I saw the video. He fell really hard and I hope he gets right.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked for his thoughts on the video of Ball\u2019s trip of Adebayo, Herro said: \u201cI mean, we all know. It was not the right play.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spoelstra said he didn\u2019t see the replay of Adebayo\u2019s hard fall during Tuesday\u2019s game, but \u201cthe bench was telling me.\u201d Adebayo fell while trying to save a loose ball from going out of bounds after Heat forward Simone Fontecchio blocked Ball\u2019s five-foot shot.<\/p>\n
Adebayo stayed down on the court writhing in pain, forcing the Heat to call a timeout. During the timeout, the entire Heat team went over to check on Adebayo before he eventually stood up and walked slowly back to the locker room.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had no idea,\u201d Spoelstra said, with the Heat missing the playoffs this season for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign. \u201cAll of us were looking at the play down the court. I knew something was up because I saw Bam standing and the ball going the other way. I didn\u2019t see how he would fall hard enough. I didn\u2019t see a jump at the backboard. Sometimes you get undercut when you\u2019re making a play at the rim. I didn\u2019t see any of that. I just saw him kind of stepping out of bounds while we were going the other way. It didn\u2019t seem like anything like that. … The bench had told me. I alerted Zach about it. But again, there\u2019s no place in the game for those kinds of shenanigans. It wasn\u2019t needed. And he was frustrated. I think he felt like he got fouled. So he takes the liberty of yanking somebody. That should be penalized.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bam Adebayo was frustrated after LaMelo Ball appeared to grab his ankle on this play.<\/p>\n
Bam went to the locker room in the second quarter. pic.twitter.com\/OyNeMutyoI<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 15, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n In a pool report conducted with Zarba following Tuesday\u2019s game in Charlotte, he explained why the play wasn\u2019t reviewed.<\/p>\n \u201cThe play wasn\u2019t whistled in real time,\u201d Zarba said to a pool reporter. \u201cPlay continued with a fast break. And because play wasn\u2019t stopped immediately, and there was no whistle on the play, the window to review the play was closed. Play was stopped, after a change of possession, and then a timeout. So, by rule, our window to review that play then is closed.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked if Ball\u2019s trip of Adebayo would have been upgraded to a flagrant foul if it was reviewed, Zarba told the pool reporter: \u201cAt this point, that goes to league operations, and they\u2019ll make a determination on that in the coming days. So, they will make that determination and go from there.\u201d<\/p>\n Whether Ball is fined or suspended by the league for his trip of Adebayo remains to be seen. The Hornets will go on the road to play Friday against the loser of Wednesday night\u2019s game between the Orlando Magic and Philadelphia 76ers, with the Eastern Conference\u2019s No. 8 playoff seed on the line.<\/p>\n Adebayo recorded six points, three rebounds and one assist in 12 minutes before exiting Tuesday\u2019s game. Jaime Jaquez Jr. started the second half in Adebayo\u2019s place.<\/p>\n \u201cNo. You can\u2019t go back,\u201d Spoelstra said when asked if he received an explanation from the officials on why the play wasn\u2019t reviewed. \u201cI think they saw it. I think I read it on his face that it was like, \u2018Oh s—, we missed that.\u201d That\u2019s the responsibility of somebody to see that. I get it. You might not see all the action of somebody falling, but you saw a frustrated player. A frustrated player now can do something frustrating actions, and that led to taking our best player out of the game, which was unfortunate.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, I repeat again, that had nothing to do with the end. I don\u2019t want to take anything away from the Hornets. They\u2019ve had a fantastic second half to this season. This was just a great dogfight. It was a great dogfight.\u201d<\/p>\n Missing Adebayo was a big blow to the Heat, considering Miami outscored teams by 6.1 points per 100 possessions when he was on the court and was outscored by teams by 3.5 points per 100 possessions when he wasn\u2019t on the court this regular season.<\/p>\n But the Heat was still in position to win Tuesday\u2019s game to keep its season alive despite missing Adebayo for most of the night. Miami led by four points with 28 seconds left in the fourth quarter and held a one-point lead with 8.7 seconds left in overtime, but could not close the deal and lost.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, it took Bam out of the game, but that did not deter us,\u201d Spoelstra continued. \u201cIf there\u2019s anything about our locker room, the guys just got into the competition. Like I said, we had our opportunities to win this game. It felt like we were going to win the game going down the stretch in regulation. Like I said, one stop by those last three possessions would have sealed it.\u201d<\/p>\n This story was originally published April 15, 2026 at 12:08 AM.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Miami Herald<\/p>\n
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