Bam Adebayo scored 20 of his game-high 24 points in the first half — including 18 in the opening quarter — and visiting Miami set a record for most points allowed by a Memphis Grizzlies opponent in regulation in a lopsided 146-114 victory Friday night.
The Heat scored 86 first-half points — also a Grizzlies opponent record — on 57.7% shooting and led 44-25 after the first quarter. Miami made seven of its nine 3-point attempts in the opening quarter and led 86-47 at halftime.
Backing Adebayo for Miami was Nikola Jokic with 20 points and six rebounds and Kel’el Ware with 19 points and nine boards. Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 17 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
Memphis got 19 points from Jaren Jackson Jr., who had 18 points and six blocks in the season opener Wednesday against New Orleans. Rookie Cedric Coward added 16 points and Santi Aldama contributed 13 points and eight boards. Ja Morant played sparingly after halftime and finished with 12 points on 4-of-16 shooting.
The Grizzlies, who defeated the Pelicans 128-122 Wednesday, were never in this game after the Heat put together a 45-13 run that spanned the first and second quarters. Miami led by as many as 39 points in the first half and 45 in the second.
Memphis could not get closer than 27 points on several occasions in the second half. After the Grizzlies trimmed the deficit to 103-76 late in the third quarter, Miami closed on an 11-0 run to take a 38-point cushion into the final quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Heat pushed their advantage to 45 points (137-92) following a 3-pointer from Pelle Larsson with 6:24 to go.
Miami was playing its first game since news surfaced Thursday that Heat guard Terry Rozier was arrested by FBI agents along with 30 others for their involvement in a mob-run poker scheme. Rozier was alleged to have participated in a sports-betting operation that involved sharing information with bettors that wasn’t available to the general public.
–Field Level Media
