Wizards coach goes off on fake basketball at end of Bam Adebayo’s 83-point game

Bam Adebayo did the unthinkable on Tuesday night when he scored 83 points in the Miami Heat’s 150-129 win over the Washington Wizards. Despite recording the second-most points ever scored in a single NBA game, Washington head coach Brian Keefe doesn’t seem too impressed with Adebayo’s performance near the end of the contest.

The 49-year-old head coach gave Adebayo credit for playing well in the first half of the game. However, during the postgame press conference, Keefe made it clear that as the game progressed, it started feeling like a fake basketball game, especially in the fourth quarter.

“I give [Adebayo] credit in the first half,” said Keefe. “He shot the ball terrific, he scored with the ball really well… [The Heat] obviusly kept him in the game. You know, there was a lot of foul calls. 16 free throws in the fourth quarter…

“He still got some free throws from 40 feet from the rim. I can’t explain some of those calls… Turnovers and offensive rebounds, the possession game was definitely the key. We only lost the game by seven in the second half, but the fourth quarter just turned into a not a real basketball game.”

"The 4th quarter just turned into not a real basketball game."

Wizards head coach Brian Keefe on his team letting Bam Adebayo drop 83 points

(via @WashWizards)pic.twitter.com/XfrN11UuWM

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 11, 2026

The Wizards coach also pointed to turnoves and offensive rebounds as the key reasons why Washington lost the game. Washington turned the ball over 23 times compared to the Heat’s 16, while the team was also outrebounded 15 to four on the offensive end. Ultimately, Keefe claimed that it was his and his team’s fault for allowing Adebayo to controle the game.

36 of Bam Adebayo’s 83 points came from the free-throw line, which is a new NBA record for most free throws made in a single contest. The 28-year-old center also recorded 21 points from beyond the three-point line, owning a 31.8% from deep. The remaining 26 points Adebayo scored came within two-point range, with most of them being within the key. He also recorded nine rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block.

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