CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Miami Heat star center Bam Adebayo was forced to exit Tuesday evening’s crucial playoff matchup against the Charlotte Hornets after suffering an injury from what appeared to be an intentional trip by Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball.
The incident occurred during the early minutes of the second quarter when Ball, who was lying on the floor, seemed to deliberately swipe at Adebayo’s left ankle with his hand, sending the Heat center tumbling backward onto the court.
Adebayo remained on the ground as play continued around him before officials finally halted the action. Team medical staff rushed to assist the injured player, who eventually managed to stand and exit the court without assistance before heading to Miami’s locker room.
The Heat organization listed Adebayo’s status as questionable for the remainder of the contest, though he did not return for the start of the third quarter.
Remarkably, no foul was assessed to Ball for the play, and officials were unable to conduct a video review since the game had not been stopped at the time of the incident.
The injury comes at a particularly unfortunate time for Adebayo, who recently had an outstanding performance with 83 points in a game just last month. Despite losing their key center, Miami managed to maintain a narrow 52-50 advantage at the intermission.
