The Miami Heat’s quest to come out of the NBA Play-In Tournament just become a lot more difficult.
Early in the second quarter against the Charlotte Hornets, Heat captain Bam Adebayo was shaken up when he took a hard fall on the court. He was deemed questionable to return with a lower back injury, per the Heat.
But Adebayo was not on the court when the second half began and he was officially ruled out for the game before the third quarter was complete.
During the second-quarter play, Adebayo was trying to save a ball from going out of bounds when Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball took Adebayo’s foot out from under him. Adebayo lost his balance and then fell on his backside, landing on his tailbone. Adebayo fell without the ability to brace himself. He remained down in discomfort for a minute or so, but eventually walked off.
He got up on his under his own power, though he walked gingerly into the locker room for observation.
With his ability to guard every position on the floor, Adebayo is Miami’s anchor on defense. A three-time All-Star and five-time All-Defense selection, Adebayo averaged 20.1 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game in 73 appearances.
On March 10, Adebayo scored the second-most points in a single game in NBA history, when he dropped 83 on the Washington Wizards.
This story will be updated
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bam Adebayo injury update after LaMelo Ball tie-up in Heat-Hornets
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