The Miami Heat faced a serious setback on Wednesday night when forward Bam Adebayo left the court early with a left foot injury during a 122–112 loss to the Denver Nuggets.
Adebayo exited the game with 3:48 remaining in the first quarter after appearing to hurt his foot on a transition play. He recorded only two points and one rebound, shooting 1-of-5 in eight minutes of action.
“I felt a pain in my foot so I took it upon myself to check myself out and go see what happened. We’ll get more tests tomorrow and see how it goes,” said Adebayo after the game.
Without Adebayo, Miami’s lack of frontcourt depth became evident. Kel’el Ware was the only available center option, while Keshad Johnson and Nikola Jovic contributed limited relief minutes. Precious Achiuwa, once part of the rotation, is now with the Sacramento Kings, and Vlad Goldin remains in the G League.
Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with an impressive triple-double, scoring 33 points along with 15 rebounds and 16 assists in 37 minutes. He shot 12-of-18 from the field and 2-of-5 from beyond the arc. Denver overpowered Miami on the boards, winning the rebound battle 61–38 and pulling in 21 offensive rebounds, which produced 22 second-chance points. The Heat managed only 44 points in the paint in comparison.
Adebayo’s foot injury underscored Miami’s thin frontcourt against Denver, where Jokic and the Nuggets capitalized on their size to secure a decisive victory.