Spoelstra: 'I apologize to absolutely no one' over Bam's 83-point game

Erik Spoelstra has no regrets for helping Bam Adebayo's etch his name in the history books Tuesday.

"I apologize to absolutely no one. Period," the longtime Miami Heat coach told reporters Thursday before their matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks, courtesy of Mike Cugno of CBS Miami.

"Going into the game, it's a Tuesday night game against a team where they're not playing for anything, where their organization is trying to lose - we've already lost a game in that kind of situation. We have players that are sitting out and I spoke to Bam - as our best player and team captain - for him to be locked in and ready. And he sure was."

Adebayo's record night overtook Kobe Bryant's 81-point game as the second-highest scoring performance ever in the NBA, trailing only Wilt Chamberlain's historic 100-point night. However, Spoelstra and the rest of the Heat have received criticism for how they helped Adebayo surpass Bryant's mark late in the final minutes of Tuesday's fourth quarter, aggressively pressuring the Wizards and rushing the ball back to Adebayo's hands despite leading by 20-plus for most of the frame.

The 28-year-old big man also made 36 of 43 free throws in the contest. Comparatively, Bryant had 23 fewer free-throw attempts during his marquee performance against the Toronto Raptors in January 2006, going 18-for-20. Adebayo's 82nd and 83rd points came at the free-throw line with 1:16 to play before Spoelstra pulled the three-time All-Star for good.

Wizards head coach Brian Keefe also took issue with how the fourth played out, calling it "not a real basketball game" in his postgame comments.

While lopsided, the win was crucial for the Heat's playoff chase as it helped bump them up to sixth with the Raptors' loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. Adebayo, meanwhile, is now averaging 20 points through 58 games this year.