MIAMI — For years, they have stood together but also somewhat overshadowed, whether it was Goran Dragic, Jimmy Butler, Norman Powell or another player perceived as a needed plus-one.
Then came Monday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers for Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro. With Powell sidelined by illness and Heat hope wavering in the wake of a numbing loss a night earlier to the league-worst Indiana Pacers, it was on them — and only them.
So Herro and Adebayo did what they had to do.
They led.
On the court, and in the locker room.
And for one night, amid a ragged end to an uneven regular season, there was relief in the form of a needed 119-109 victory over the loaded opposing roster of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George.
“We followed Tyler and Bam’s lead, on both ends of the court,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “It was really their competitive will.
“I really commend the team of having such a disappointing two weeks and then to have guys that are really celebrating each other and having that kind of passion for each other through all that.”
With Powell missing considerable time over the second half of the season, including the past two games due to illness, and with the Heat unable to find a Butler replacement of similar stature since that February 2025 trade, it arguably has never been more about Adebayo and Herro than at the moment.
So with the Heat facing the prospect of losing for the eighth time in nine games, with an early 13-point lead lost, the two stepped up and spoke up at halftime, to avoid yet another of the type of third-quarter meltdowns that had cratered this season.
“It was one of our best halftimes ever,” said forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., who again anchored the bench. “Tyler and Bam really brought us together during that time.”
Adebayo said it was a matter of what the moment required.
“It’s our responsibility,” he said.
So it came from the heart.
“It was a feeling,” Adebayo said of Herro and himself seizing the moment.
So moment seized.
“It was a productive halftime,” Herro said. “We were able to get things done. We were able to speak on things, eye-to-eye communication.
“We came out with a lot of energy in that second half.”
It ended with Herro converting a pair of decisive late 3-pointers as part of his 30-point night, now with 61 points over the past two games in Powell’s absence, and with Adebayo closing with 23 points, 16 rebounds and six assists, his fourth consecutive double-double, his best such streak of the season.
To Herro, it was a matter of doing as needed.
“It’s a long season. I was hurt for more than half a year, so some games are obviously harder than others,” he said, with Monday night leaving no wiggle room between relief or resignation, as the Heat now scramble for position in the play-in race.
“We’re obviously on a terrible stretch right now as a team, and I think in a long season, I have to trust in the process, believe that we have enough to achieve what we want to achieve. And it takes time. We just got to keep going.”
With another test on the way, with Wednesday night’s visit by the Celtics, a team that has dominated the Heat since similar Heat dominance over Boston earlier in the decade.
So after a night of walking the walk with their play on the court, and talking the talk when needed in the halftime locker room, Adebayo said there is no choice but for himself and Herro to continue setting a tone for as long as this season lasts.
“Knowing that we’ve got six games left,” Adebayo said, “obviously me and T need to be more vocal in these next six, just understanding it’s going to take that type of will.”
So, basically, Adebayo, Herro . . . or bust.
“Our backs are against the wall. Everybody knows what the deal is,” Spoelstra said. “We need everybody in that locker room, but we need to really lean on our main guys right now.”