LaMelo Ball’s Apparent Trip Reportedly Probed by NBA After Bam Adebayo’s Injury in Heat-Hornets
The NBA is looking into the incident involving LaMelo Ball and Bam Adebayo during Tuesday’s play-in tournament game between the Miami Heat and Charlotte Hornets that resulted in Adebayo suffering a back injury.
Per NBA insider Chris Haynes, the NBA is reviewing the situation and expects to issue a ruling prior to the Hornets’ next play-in game on Friday.
The play occurred in the second quarter when Ball was driving to the basket and fell to the ground, then appeared to grab at Adebayo’s ankles. The Heat star hithis lower back hard on the court and was unable to return to the game.
The Hornets would go on to win the game 127-126 in overtime, eliminating the Heat from playoff contention in the process.
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters after the game the play with Ball was “dangerous” and should have resulted in him being ejected.
I don’t think it’s cute. I don’t think it’s funny. I think it’s a stupid play,” Spoelstra said. “It’s a dangerous play… That’s a shame. He should be penalized for that. I don’t think that belongs in the game, tripping guys… He should’ve been thrown out of the game for that.”
Ball did apologize to Adebayo after the win, explaining that he “got hit in the head” on the play and “didn’t even know where I was, just playing basketball.”
Adebayo scored six points on 3-of-3 shooting with three rebounds, one assist and one steal in 11 minutes prior to the injury. There was no foul called on the play for either team.
Ball finished the game with 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in 40 minutes. He also hit the go-ahead layup with four seconds remaining in overtime that proved to be the game-winning shot.
The Hornets advanced to the next round of the play-in tournament where they will await the loser of Wednesday’s game between the Orlando Magic and Philadelphia 76ers. The winner of Friday’s matchup will be the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and take on the Detroit Pistons in the first round.
Miami’s loss marks the first time it will miss the playoffs since the 2018-19 season.
