"He torched us in the Olympics"- Bam Adebayo knew Gabe Vincent was gonna be special after he leads the Heat to victory in the NBA Finals
Bam Adebayo revisited Gabe Vincent's clinical performance against Team USA in an exhibition game before the Tokyo Olympics after the Heat's Game 2 win in the NBA Finals. Vincent was on the Nigerian team that caused one of the biggest upsets in international basketball after it defeated USA 90-87 in an Olympic exhibition game in 2021.
Vincent dominated that contest with a game-high 21-point outing. He shot the lights out in that contest, knocking down six triples. Adebayo compared Vincent's demeanor in that game to Sunday's Game 2 against the Nuggets where the latter dropped a game-high 23 points, shooting 8 of 12, including 4-of-6 from deep, to guide the Heat to a 111-108 win, saying:
"Man, when he torched us in the Olympics, in the exhibition game facing Nigeria... He came out with that type of energy, that type of ferocity and that anger and from there I was like, he's one of us."
"He torched us in the Olympics...in the exhibition game facing Nigeria."
Bam Adebayo on when he knew Gabe Vincent was a special player.
#NBAFinals presented by @YouTubeTV https://t.co/vfiYPsA0hN
Bam Adebayo was suggesting he found out Gabe Vincent was synonymous with the "Heat Culture" after his stellar outing in that exhibition game. Vincent was still finding his feet in the NBA and was a fringe player.
Despite that, he took on the challenge of leading Nigeria to a stunning win over a Team USA starting lineup that featured an All-Star lineup, including Bradley Beal, Jayson Tatum, Kevin Durant and Bam Adebayo.
Gabe Vincent has continued displaying his remarkable confidence since then. This season, he started in 50% of his games. Vincent stepped up big time in the playoffs, starting every game he played, averaging 13.4 points and 3.9 assists, shooting 40.0% from deep on 6.4 attempts.
"National media, please look that up because you're not following -- Nnamdi. He's a special player."
Erik Spoelstra on Gabe Vincent. https://t.co/7cJOTZCgsu
Bam Adebayo and Gabe Vincent combine for 26 points in the second half to lead Miami Heat to a comeback win
The Miami Heat erased a 15-point deficit to win Game 2 against the Denver Nuggets. The Heat were the first team to steal homecourt advantage off the Nuggets in the 2023 NBA playoffs. The Heat looked out of depth for the first time after their Game 1 loss, but they again relied on their elite shooting and pesky defense to tie the series 1-1.
Gabe Vincent and Bam Adebayo played an integral role in the comeback. The duo went off for 26 points in the second half on 8-of-11 shooting. Vincent made 3-of-4 3-pointers in that stretch. They kept the Heat afloat coming out of the break, tallying 14 of Miami's 24 third-quarter points.
Strength in numbers for Miami on game 2 😤 🔥
#NBA #NBAFinals #Miami #Heat https://t.co/lFpEP8UcC3
That kept the Heat in contention to still win the contest. They were down eight entering the fourth quarter, which kept them within striking distance of the Nuggets' total. Duncan Robinson was huge in that early fourth-quarter run that swayed the contest in Miami's favor. He scored 10 points in the final frame on 4-of-5 shooting. The Heat outscored Denver 36-25 in the fourth quarter to seal the win.