Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo moved into a leading role Wednesday as Team USA defeated South Sudan, 103-86, at the Paris Olympics to clinch a spot in the competition’s quarterfinals.
Adebayo closed with a team-high 18 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, and seven rebounds to spark the Team USA second unit, in a performance that included 8-of-10 shooting.
Adebayo said it simply was a case of providing energy as needed.
“Crashing the glass hard, getting open shots, my teammates just making it easy for me,” he said. “Just being able to make shots for them. Like I said, I’m not here to get 20 shots up. But when I’m open, shoot it.”
The Team USA victory came after Heat forward Nikola Jovic helped keep Serbia’s hopes of advancing to the quarterfinals alive as part of a 107-66 victory over Puerto Rico earlier in the day.
Adebayo continued to be cast as a reserve, with Team USA this time starting Anthony Davis at center in place of Joel Embiid, and Jayson Tatum in place of Jrue Holiday. Remaining in the Team USA starting lineup were LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Devin Booker.
Adebayo then entered in Team USA’s first substitution along with Kevin Durant, with that casting Adebayo at center.
From there, with Adebayo helping anchor the defense while playing in front of Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, a Team USA assistant to coach Steve Kerr, the game swung in the expected direction.
Adebayo entered with the score tied 10-10, with Team USA then taking a 26-14 lead into the second period, with Adebayo closing the scoring at the end of the first period with a 2-foot jumper.
By the time Adebayo checked out for the first time, Team USA was up 36-17 midway through the second quarter, with Adebayo 3 for 3 from the field at that stage.
Adebayo then was called back into action late in the second period, after Davis was forced to the bench following a misstep, shortly thereafter draining a 3-pointer, to move to 4 for 4 from the field, for a 50-31 Team USA lead.
During a televised halftime interview, Team USA assistant coach Tyronn Lue cited Adebayo’s “strong intensity.”
“His energy is good for us,” said Lue, the Los Angeles Clippers coach.
Adebayo then was rushed back into the game early in the third quarter, when South Sudan rallied from a 55-36 halftime deficit to within 11.
Team USA then moved to a 73-57 lead entering the fourth, with Adebayo thriving in lineups alongside Durant.
An escape against South Sudan during an exhibition tour had Team USA, and Adebayo, eager to make a statement.
“We knew they were going to play hard,” said Adebayo, who is seeking his second consecutive Olympic gold. “We played them before; they played us tough and we expected that. I feel like we’re everybody’s home run.
“So for us, man, it’s just going out there and playing to the best of our abilities. We got some of the greatest talents in the world. So just for us to go out there and compete and execute.”
South Sudan also had a Heat connection, with former Heat forward Luol Deng bankrolling and directing the nation’s basketball program.
Born in the portion of Sudan that now is South Sudan, Deng played for the Heat from 2014 to 2016 before leaving for a free-agency contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.
After Tatum was held out of Sunday’s victory over Serbia, Team USA this time sat out Embiid, with Tyrese Haliburton getting his first action for Team USA in these games when he entered in the second period.
Earlier, Jovic in 18:22 off the bench, helped Serbia even its opening-round record at 1-1, with the 41-point victory over Puerto Rico, three days after Jovic and Serbia fell, 110-84, to Adebayo and Team USA in their Olympic opener.
Jovic closed with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting in the victory over Puerto Rico, adding three rebounds and two assists in his second game back from an ankle sprain sustained in June at Kaseya Center during a Heat workout.
Serbia on Wednesday outscored Puerto Rico by 23 with Jovic on the court, but a missed layup by Jovic also cost Serbia center Nikola Jokic a triple-double, with the Denver Nuggets center closing with 14 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists.
Serbia closes out pool play Saturday against South Sudan, with Wednesday’s margin of victory likely enough to already lift Serbia into the single-elimination quarterfinals.
Among those going against Jovic and Serbia on Wednesday for Puerto Rico were former University of Miami player Davon Reed, who closed with three points, and former Heat 2017 summer league player Gian Clavell, the Hialeah Gardens prep product, who finished with six points.
