MIAMI (AP) — Bam Adebayo scored 31 points in the opening quarter against the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night, breaking the Miami Heat record for points in any period and tying the team record for points in a first half before the second quarter even started.
He was 10 for 16 from the field, 6 for 7 from the foul line and 5 for 8 from 3-point range.
Adebayo had the NBA’s highest-scoring quarter since Karl-Anthony Towns had 32 for Minnesota in the third quarter of a game at San Antonio on March 14, 2022.
Besides Towns and now Adebayo, only three other players in the last 30 seasons had at least 31 points in a quarter.
— Klay Thompson had an NBA record for any quarter with 37 for Golden State against Sacramento in the third quarter on Jan. 23, 2015.
— Kevin Love had 34 for Cleveland against Portland in the first quarter on Nov. 23, 2016.
— Carmelo Anthony had 33 for Denver against Minnesota in the third quarter on Dec. 10, 2008.
The previous Heat record for points in a first quarter was 25, done by LeBron James at Cleveland on March 18, 2014. James had the only other 25-point quarter in Heat history, part of his team-record, 61-point game against Charlotte on March 3, 2014.
Before Tuesday, Adebayo had never scored more than 19 points in a quarter. The 31 points tied for the 13th-highest scoring game of his career, 10 off his career best of 41 at Brooklyn on Jan. 23, 2021.
Adebayo’s season high entering Tuesday was 32. He matched that with a free throw with 5:53 left in the second quarter, breaking the Heat first-half scoring record.
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