Luka Dončić‘s Big Night in Miami the First Referendum on Bam Adebayo’s 83-Point Game

Luka Doncic shoots over Bam Adebayo during his 60-point performance against the Miami Heat. | Isabella Frias-Imagn Images

Luka Dončić scored 60 points in a win over the Heat on Thursday night. Dončić and the Lakers are on an incredible hot streak right now and this incredible performance is just the latest example of how good he's been recently.

What made this game even more notable is the fact that it came against Miami just a week after Bam Adebayo scored 83 points. The Heat big man's performance has been hotly debated for a number of reasons and any high-scoring game will be compared to it for the foreseeable future. Luka's 60-piece was a perfect opportunity and Adebayo was more than happy to talk about it.

"I know what it's like to be in that mode."

Coming off 83 points last week... Bam had to show respect for Luka's 60-piece in last night's Lakers/Heat game 💯 pic.twitter.com/olIkkH4NFv

— NBA (@NBA) March 20, 2026

"He hit some tough shots out there, but it is what it is," said Adebayo. "I know what its like to be in that mode. As people can see, it's not easy to get 80. You know he made some tough shots and you tip your hat off."

Of course not everyone agrees that Adebayo knows exactly what it's like to "be in that mode." SiriusXM's Justin Termine and ESPN's Frank Isola both quickly determined that Luka's is performance was superior, despite only scoring three-quarters of the points Adebayo did.

Bam’s last three quarters on his historic night: 52 points, 10 for 27 and 30 of 36 free throws.
Luka last three quarters second night of back to back: 48 points, 15 for 23 and 11 of 13 free throws. https://t.co/7wfotd2ndY

— Frank Isola (@TheFrankIsola) March 20, 2026

This feels like it's going to be a common occurrence. Whenever a player has a very high point total it's going to be compared statistically and ethically to Bam's 83-point game. The Heat throwing the unwritten rulebook out the window to get Adebayo to the second highest scoring total in league history really rubbed some people the wrong way. With basketball ethics becoming such a hot topic over the last few seasons the way players score seems almost as important as how much they score.

Even a Miami Heat fan has to agree that nothing in Bam's 83-point game is this memorable as what Luka did against the Rockets on Wednesday or what he did in Miami the very next night. Just listen to the crowd as he hits the three to give himself 58 and extended the Lakers' lead to seven with just over two minutes to go in the fourth quarter.

Playing hack-a-Wizard in a blowout doesn't really pass muster in the same way. People are going to tell their grandchildren about Luka Dončić screaming at trash-talking fans as he ices games. Explaining why Kasparas Jakucionis was intentionally fouling Bilal Coulibaly with less than two minutes remaining with a 26-point lead is decidedly less cool, but that's the new litmus test.

What Adebayo did was a true feat that will appear on lists forever. Meanwhile, Luka is creating moments. It is the difference between coming up at trivia and coming up in conversation.

For a basketball fan sometimes you're expected to remember both.

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