Bam Adebayo’s celebration of Miami’s first 20-rebound triple-double turned out to be premature after an NBA statistical review took away one of the rebounds he had been credited with in Monday’s 108-107 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
“My first reaction was ‘That’s a buzzkill,'” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Wednesday before the Heat’s game against the Grizzlies in Memphis. “Come on! He was doing a big-muscle workout on the glass. Let it go.
“Was it a tip, or whatever? That’s 20 rebounds in my book.”
On the play in question, Adebayo blocked a shot and the ball ultimately landed with teammate Duncan Robinson, who was belatedly credited with the rebound.
“It’s whatever,” Adebayo said. “I’ve seen a lot of dudes get their stats padded and nobody bats an eye. But it’s all good.
“I’ll do it again.”
Adebayo still finished with a triple-double, but didn’t join Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Chris Walker, DeMarcus Cousins and Nikola Jokic as the only NBA players with 20-rebound triple-doubles.
The league reviews all statistics during and after games, sometimes tweaking numbers when it determines that, for instance, a shot initially credited as a three-pointer was actually worth two.
“I’m not mad at that,” Adebayo said. “It’s part of basketball. I’ve just got to make sure I get my 20th rebound next time.”