Bam Adebayo does nothing to hide his frustration in ruining Udonis Haslem’s special night by losing to the Atlanta Hawks. Haslem is one of three NBA players to have loyally stayed with one franchise for the entirety of his career – active and retired. Miami had announced earlier that UD’s no. 40 jersey would be retired on January 19th.

And their 108-109 loss had to happen tonight itself. Talking in the post-game presser, Adebayo said, “I’m sick we lost this game. Just because he embodies winning.”

The oldest player in the NBA to retire and to appear in an NBA Finals, Udonis hung his sneakers at 43. Haslem’s stat sheet doesn’t have a whole lot to say, but for the Heat, he is the greatest player ever to set foot in the franchise. Adebayo said it best. “He was the glue. A lot of people get lost in the stats, who averages the most, but he was the glue for everybody. … And I feel like the glue guys are the most important guys on a team.”

For Bam, who accepted the team captain role from Haslem this season, an ultimate winner is the 3x champion. A sentiment echoed by the entire NBA world, no doubt. Many, including his former teammates, were in attendance for the honorary ceremony.

Had Miami gotten the win, it would have been a complete circle. But Dejounte Murray had other plans.

Murray leaves Bam Adebayo and the Heat in the dust

Dejounte Murray has been the trade target of the Lakers for a reason. Tonight’s performance was just another episode of Murray doing his thing. Not having Trae Young for the night was the one thing the Heat was banking on. But the 27-year-old guard wasn’t having any of it as he turned the heat on Miami.

Heat Legend Hysterically Steals Credit for Bam Adebayo’s Leadership on Jersey Retirement Night

With Saddiq Bey, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Jalen Johnson, and Clint Capela to help Murray, Atlanta started their onslaught. With the team relying on Murray and Bogdanovic to carry the offense and be threats from the perimeter, the Hawks were off to a strong start.

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If the ‘Sunshine State’ thought their opponents would simply pass over like clouds, they were in for a rude rainstorm. Both the teams had a tight second and third quarter. Moving to the final quarter, though, the Blackhawks were trailing by just two points.

It looked like the ‘Magic City’ would continue to be Atlanta’s Achilles heel. Until a minute was left on the clock. The next few shots happened in a blur (they could give the Flash a run for his money!). Capela and Bogdanovic both hit their free throws. Tyler Herro missed a shot. Murray grabbed the rebound. And it was a straight run down the court for his back-to-back buzzer beater.

The end!

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