By the end of the night, after the M-V-P chants and celebratory hugs, after his mom broke in tears and he said his girlfriend, WNBA star A’ja Wilson, was about to break into tears beside him, Bam Adebayo condensed the night to eight words.

“It’s Wilt, me and Kobe, which sound crazy,’’ he said.

Crazy. Irrational. Delusional. And wonderful. Beautiful. Mesmerizing. There was a photo of Adebayo at his locker, holding up a sheet of paper with “83” written on it to replicate the iconic photo of Wilt Chamberlain holding up a paper with “100” on it.

Sure, Wilt scoring 100 points in 1962 to set an NBA record was surprising — but it was Wilt being Wilt, too. Kobe Bryant scoring 81 points in 2006 was legendary — but it was still Kobe doing Kobe things.

“This one came out of nowhere,’’ Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said after the 150-129 win against Washington.

Didn’t that add to the magic of this night?

Adebayo had a previous high of 41 points. He entered the league, as he said, “as a defender and a lob threat.” And he worked on his offense. Worked? He ran himself through four-a-day practices in a manner no one else did. Ball-handling. Shooting. Scrimmaging. Shooting again.

“Work is my secret sauce,’’ he said.

On Tuesday, all that work mixed with a convenient opponent in Washington delivered the Mona Lisa smile of sports: The small-picture moment. Everyone recognizes the big-picture moments. The Heat has had many in its championship history. Dwyane Wade’s Game 4 against Dallas in 2006 defining one title. LeBron James’ Game 6 in Boston in 2012 defining another.

But part of loving sports is appreciating the small-picture moments, the ones that stand alone for the sheer joy without some greater significance to them.

Anyone watching Glen Rice score 56 points in a forgotten 1995 season understands the value of a small-picture moment. Or how about Wade’s final game with the Heat, an emotional triple-double in a loss at Brooklyn?

Adebayo’s night didn’t seal something significant. But pity the poor souls who don’t have sports to appreciate the beauty on any given night.

Pity those, too, ranting about the impurity of his points. Yes, the Heat missed free throws at the end to get him back the ball. Yes, he set NBA records for free throws made (36) and taken (43). But why wouldn’t the Heat bend the basketball to help him once he got within reach of Kobe’s 81 points.

“In the fourth quarter, it turned into not a real basketball game,” Washington coach Brian Keefe said.

That’s rich. Keefe, upon hearing the Heat’s Tyler Herro was out injured Tuesday, sat Wizards star Trae Young. That’s because they are tanking with one of the NBA’s worst records at 16-48. They’re going out of their way to lose every night. And their coach is lecturing about “real” basketball?

If Washington had any player with toughness and pride, they would have knocked Adebayo to the floor a few times as he kept scoring. But Washington doesn’t want those type of players right now. Again, it’s tanking.

Some said Adebayo’s night diminishes sports history. That shows a misunderstanding of sports history. Kobe took every shot but one for his Los Angeles Lakers in the final 5 1/2 minutes — scoring 17 points — in a blowout game to cap his 81-point night.

The New York Knicks hacked Wilt Chamberlain mercilessly in the end, trying to get the notoriously bad free-throw shooter to make foul shots. Wilt made 28 of 32. Great for him. But is that “real” basketball?

Let’s not drag Adebayo into any of this. He turned a meaningless Tuesday against an impotent Washington team and etched something fun into NBA history. Adebayo outscored the Wizards 31-29 in the first quarter. That topped LeBron James’s 29 points in a quarter for the Heat record and suggested something historically was on the horizon.

Spoelstra said when Adebayo hit 40 points in the second quarter, he quit talking to him. Didn’t go near him. Superstitious? You bet.

Adebayo broke Rice’s one-time Heat record with his 57th point midway through the third quarter. A minute later, LeBron’s franchise-record 61 points in a game was passed.

“Bam! Bam! Bam!” LeBron posted on social media.

Adebayo drove hard for a lay-in and was fouled for a three-point play for 70 points early in fourth quarter.

“We have never witnessed another night quite like this in our 30 years,’’ Heat play-by-play announcer Eric Reid said.

There was the beauty of it all. You can say things you’ve never said and not overdo it. Reid was right. There’s not been a night quite like Adebayo’s.

It didn’t subtract from the moment, as some said, that Washington is tanking this season. Are you kidding? It added to the night considering the Heat are the poster team of anti-tanking — and Adebayo is their captain. Pour it on. And keep pouring.

Still, it was sublime when Washington tried to deny Adebayo his moment, only adding to the lack of “real” basketball. It triple-teamed him in the backcourt to force him to give up the ball. It double-teamed him on an out-of-bounds play so he couldn’t get the pass. It hacked Adebayo when he drove to the basket with 76 seconds left.

Swish, went his first free throw for his 82nd point.

Swish, went his final, 83rd point.

“Look at the company he’s with right now,’’ Spoelstra said. “The absolute greats of the game. The scoring greats. It’s an absolute created to his relentless will and work ethic.”

A few days ago, Wade wasn’t wrong when he said on a podcast, “The city needs to be woken up. It’s not alive no more. When I was here, it was buzzing in these streets … The city needs that person who can bring that energy here. No one’s here.”

Again, he wasn’t wrong. But on this night, out of nowhere, Adebayo brought a buzz. He delivered a small-picture masterpiece. He isn’t Wilt or Kobe, no matter what the point totals show. But that’s the great beauty of this moment.

For one night, Bam delivered the kind of night that says every sports night can be magical.

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