BBNBA: Adebayo, Herro bounced from Playoffs after blowout loss

By the end of Wednesday night’s Game 5, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro looked more than ready to start their extended summer vacation. The former Kentucky Wildcats turned Miami Heat stars came to Boston trailing the first-round series against the top-seeded Celtics, 3-1.

Another loss would send 8-seed Miami home for good. And after losing Games 3 and 4 by a combined 34 points, the Heat didn’t exactly seem inspired to keep its postseason going for another couple of days. The Celtics dominated Game 5 from start to finish, winning by a final score of 118-84 and advancing to the Eastern Conference Semifinals along the way.

Adebayo still posted solid numbers despite the blowout, finishing with 23 points, six assists, five rebounds, and two steals in 36 minutes. But the 6-foot-9 All-Star shot just 10-26 from the floor and was a -32 in the box score. Meanwhile, Herro could never find his rhythm, posting 15 points on 6-19 shooting (1-8 3PT) to go along with three boards and three dimes in his 35 minutes. Herro logged a -28.

The Heat shot just 3-29 from beyond the arc in Game 5 — a common theme throughout this series outside of one red-hot performance in Game 2. The loss marked the first time since 2021 that Miami has failed to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Wednesday’s victory was a redemption moment for Boston, which was knocked out of the Eastern Conference Finals last season by this same Heat squad. There was a major difference in those two series, though. Miami’s best player, Jimmy Butler, was available last season; he hadn’t played since April 14 this time around.

Adebayo, 26, concludes his third All-Star season with per-game averages of 19.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.9 blocks in 34 minutes. He started all 71 games played while shooting 52.1 percent from the field, a career-high 35.7 percent from deep (on limited attempts), and 75.5 percent from the line.

Herro, 24, concludes his season with per-game averages of 20.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in 33.5 minutes. Injured for half of the schedule, he started 40 of 42 games played while shooting 44.1 percent overall, 39.6 percent from distance, and 85.6 percent from the line.

Other BBNBA notes

• The second game of the night featured the 4-seed Dallas Mavericks and the 5-seed Los Angeles Clippers. With the series tied 2-2, the Mavs had no issue stealing Game 5, 123-93, on the road and taking a 3-2 lead with Game 6 headed back to Dallas this Friday. The Mavericks didn’t even need a good game from PJ Washington, who added just two points (1-7 FG; 0-4 3PT), five rebounds, two assists, and one block in 29 minutes. 35 points from Luka Doncic were more than enough.
• For the Clippers, Brandon Boston Jr. received some playing time in the blowout loss, chipping in two points, one rebound, and one assist in five minutes of action. Kawhi Leonard sat out his second straight game for the Clippers with a knee injury.

5/1/24 statistics

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	+/-	MIN
Bam Adebayo (MIA)	118-84 L @ BOS	23	10-26 (1-3)	5	6	2	0	3	-32	36
Tyler Herro (MIA)	118-84 L @ BOS	15	6-19 (1-8)	3	3	0	0	0	-28	35
PJ Washington (DAL)	123-93 W @ LAC	2	1-7 (0-4)	5	2	0	1	1	13	29
Brandon Boston Jr. (LAC)	123-93 L vs. DAL	2	1-2	1	1	0	0	0	0	5

Tonight in the NBA Playoffs

Round 1 | Game 6 | IND Leads 3-2
6:30 (TNT/truTV): [3] Bucks (Livingston) @ [6] Pacers (Jackson)

Round 1 | Game 6 | NYK leads 3-2
9:00 (TNT/truTV): [2] Knicks (Randle: out) @ [7] 76ers (Maxey)