On Wednesday evening, the Miami Heat got a big victory on the road against the Brooklyn Nets.
Although Kevin Durant had 25 points and 11 rebounds, he was largely held in check, and afterward Bam Adebayo explained how they did so.
“Number one thing, we wanted to make it difficult for him,” said Adebayo. “We didn’t want him to get any touches to get him going. We tried to get him out of rhythm the best way we could.”
The big man then talked about an aspect of the team’s culture that has helped it get off to a good start this season.
“It’s ‘The Kennel,’ man,” said Adebayo. “We’re trying to fight our way out. Everybody trying to get one. U.D. (Udonis Haslem) leads by that, and our best thing we can do is to follow his lead.”
The Heat have always been about winning with defense, but they did an outstanding job against Brooklyn, holding it to just 93 points on 38.8 percent shooting from the field.
Adebayo led the way offensively with 24 points to go along with nine rebounds, while Tucker had 15 points and seven boards.
The Heat are now 3-1 on the young season. They will host LaMelo Ball and the Charlotte Hornets on Friday.