For the first time this season, two NBA players made a buzzer beater on the same date, and it just so happened to be on St. Patrick’s Day. They were Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo of Newark, New Jersey, and Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving of Melbourne, Australia.
In the Heat win over the Detroit Pistons, newly acquired shooting guard Terry Rozier of Youngstown, Ohio passed the basketball to Adebayo, who broke a 101-101 deadlock from 31 feet and give the Heat a dramatic 104-101 win. In the Mavericks’s win over the Denver Nuggets, Irving made a 21 foot field goal from Maxi Kleber of Wurzburg, Germany to break a 105-105 tie and give the Mavericks a 107-105 win. Irving’s field goal was a hook shot that would have reminded veteran basketball fans of the great Kareem-Abdul Jabbar.
The Heat were the heavy 6.5 point favourite against the Pistons. Even though Miami got the win, they were unable to cover the spread, as the Pistons were pesky until the bitter end. The Mavericks pulled off the upset as the Nuggets were the slight four point favourite heading into their game.
Adebayo finished with 20 points and was second on the Heat in scoring. Miami’s scoring leader was small forward Duncan Robinson of York, Maine, who had 30 points. Rozier meanwhile led the Heat with nine helpers. Like Adebayo, Irving was second on his team in scoring. With 24 points, he was only behind guard Luka Doncic of Ljubljana, Slovenia, who had 37 points.
Adebayo’s first career buzzer beater was from 13 feet and came in a 109-107 Miami win over the Brooklyn Nets on April 18, 2021. Irving’s first career buzzer beater was with the Nets on December 16, 2022. It was a three-point shot made from 27 feet in a 119-116 Nets win over the Toronto Raptors. Melbourne’s Ben Simmons had the assist.
With the win, the Mavericks are in a seventh place tie with the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference. Both teams are at 39 wins and 29 losses. The Heat are at 37 wins and 30 losses and are in a seventh place tie with the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference.
