Bam Adebayo Made It A Point To Use Pistons Game As Chance To Break Slump

After struggling the past five games, Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo has breakout against the Detroit Pistons
Bam Adebayo Made It A Point To Use Pistons Game As Chance To Break Slump
Bam Adebayo Made It A Point To Use Pistons Game As Chance To Break Slump /
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Welcome back, pre-All-Star break Bam Adebayo. 

That's how it must have felt for the Miami Heat after Friday's victory against the Detroit Pistons. Adebayo broke from a mini-slump by scoring 22 points to help the Heat snap a four-game losing streak. 

"What Bam is about is being a great competitor," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "He wanted to make sure he was going to impose his will on this game and he did it on both ends of the court." 

It was Adebayo's first 20-point effort in five games. During that stretch, he only shot 50 percent once and had one game in single-digits (five points on 1 of 9 shooting against the Oklahoma City Thunder). 

Things were finally back to normal Friday. 

Adebayo shot 10 of 14 while also grabbing nine rebounds and three blocks. He scored 12 points in the second quarter. 

 "He was setting the tone in that second quarter and it wasn't just that scoring," Spoelstra said. "Obviously, that was big but he had some impactful plays, momentum plays and defensively he was everywhere. That's what your leaders do in these tough moments."

The Heat return to action Sunday in a rematch against the Pistons. 

Heat vs. Pistons Takeaways: Bam Adebayo Bounces Back From Rough Patch

 Shandel Richardson covers the Miami Heat for Inside The Heat, a Fan Nation channel for Sports Illustrated. He has covered the NBA since 2010.

TWITTER: @ShandelRich

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here