Miami Heat’s Kevin Love Turns Clock Back To 2011 Against Indiana Pacers

Jake Elman | 2 Hours Ago

Nov 15, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Miami Heat forward Kevin Love (42) shoots the ball in the second half against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Miami Heat forward Kevin Love turned the clock back to his youth Friday night. 

Love, 37, shined in the Heat’s bounce back victory over the Pacers. He scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Love started his third consecutive game after missing the season’s first eight outings for personal reasons.

Love scored all of his points in the third quarter. Miami outscored Indiana 37-30 over those 12 minutes. 

We don’t fault anyone who thought Love traveled through a time machine Friday night. According to HeatMuse, his stellar performance marked his first game with 15 points, seven boards, 75 percent shooting (6 of 8), and a three-point percentage over 75 percent since 2011. 

Love hit three of his four three-point attempts over 12 minutes. 

Kevin Love's 3rd quarter on Nov. 15, 2024 will be studied pic.twitter.com/SaIYmvl4SK

— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) November 16, 2024

Count Heat center Bam Adebayo among those impressed by Love’s throwback performance. 

“K Love definitely motivated me,” Adebayo said. “Year 18 and he is playing his role to the best of his ability. I grew up watching him in the finals and he is my teammate now.”

Love should return to the bench when Jimmy Butler returns from his lingering ankle ailment. The All-Star forward missed his third straight game Friday night.

For now, Love is starting, and he’s trying to play like he’s still a 23-year-old on the Minnesota Timberwolves.

ADEBAYO JOINS LEBRON IN EXCLUSIVE CLUB

Adebayo didn’t just continue his latest All-Star push in Friday’s road victory over the Pacers. 

Adebayo put his name next to LeBron James — and that’s always worth celebrating. 

Adebayo recorded 30 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, and five steals in the 124-111 win. StatMuse reported he joined James and Eddie Jones as the only players in Heat history with a 30/10/5/5 game. 

“It’s unnatural to see me shoot less than 50 percent any night,” said Adebayo, who went 10 of 17 from the field and nailed both three-point attempts.

WHAT SHOULD FANTASY PLAYERS DO WITH BUTLER?

At least the Heat still have Bam Adebayo and aspiring All-Star guard Tyler Herro amid Butler’s absence. Fantasy basketball players probably aren’t so lucky. 

In fact, fantasy players are likely extremely frustrated with Butler’s latest injury. Some may be tempted to drop or trade him in the coming weeks.

ESPN says that’s a bad idea. The site urged players in a Nov. 15 article to hold off on cutting Butler.

“Butler isn’t young, and he isn’t LeBron James, so some statistical decline shouldn’t surprise us, but really, there hasn’t been much,” the article argued. “Be patient. We can debate Butler deserving his top-50 draft day status missing so many games annually, but when he plays, the numbers are there.”

HEAT PLAYERS STILL CHASING SIX-FIGURE PAYDAY

The Heat improved to 1-1 in NBA Cup play with Friday’s road victory in Indiana. That’s good news for Miami players hoping to grow their bank account.

According to USA Today, players on the winning NBA Cup team earn nearly $515,000. That’s up from the $500,000 players on the Los Angeles Lakers netted in last season’s tournament.

The rest of the 2024 NBA Cup prize money is as follows:

• Players on losing team in championship game: $205,988
• Players on losing semifinals teams: $102,994
• Players on losing quarterfinals teams: $51,497

Every player on the roster, including those on two-way contracts, earns prize money if their team advances far enough in the NBA Cup. However, the Heat’s three two-way players—Dru Smith, Josh Christopher, and Keshad Johnson—only get half-shares in that scenario.

Still, a $257,000 bonus sounds pretty good to us when you’re earning slightly over $578,000 for the season.

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Jake Elman works as a contributing writer to Miami Heat on SI. He can be reached at jakeelman97@gmail.com or follow him on X @JakeElman97.