NBA play-in: Heat's Bam Adebayo leaves with back injury after Hornets' LaMelo Ball grabbed his ankle on fall to ground
Ball wasn't called for a foul, and Erik Spoelstra's pleas for a replay review for a potential flagrant foul went unheeded.
Things got heated early in Tuesday’s play-in game between the Heat and Charlotte Hornets after a hard fall to the court by Miami’s Bam Adebayo. Adebayo grabbed a rebound after a LaMelo Ball layup was blocked. As Adebayo landed near the baseline, Ball, on the ground, grabbed the back of Adebayo’s left ankle while Adebayo’s right leg was in the air.
Adebayo fell hard to the court and was in immediate pain. Replay of LaMelo Ball grabbing Bam Adebayo’s ankle before Bam Adebayo landed on his tailbone pic. twitter.
com/KVv1rkjxm2 — Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) April 15, 2026 He needed help up from the court and eventually walked to the locker room. The Heat listed him as questionable to return with a lower back injury. No foul on LaMelo, no review of play Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, meanwhile, was heated on the Miami bench.
Officials didn’t call a foul on Ball, and Spoelstra’s pleas to review the play for a potential flagrant foul went unheeded. Referee Zach Zarba told the Amazon Prime broadcast that the play wasn’t eligible to be reviewed because it wasn’t immediately stopped, and there was a change of possession. The Hornets led, 30-26 at the time of Adebayo’s injury early in the second quarter.