The Heat defeat the Bucks, 106-103, as coach Erik Spoelstra earns his 800th career victory.<\/p>\n
MIAMI (AP) \u2014 Water bottles were getting dumped on Miami coach Erik Spoelstra from all angles in a joyous locker room after the Heat beat the Milwaukee Bucks<\/a> in an Emirates NBA Cup 2025<\/a> Group Play\u00a0game, and the scene caught him off-guard.<\/p>\n The water-pourers wanted to celebrate his 800th career win.<\/p>\n And Spoelstra had no idea what was happening.<\/p>\n \u201cI was very confused,\u201d Spoelstra said Wednesday night. \u201cI was calculating that maybe we\u2019ve qualified for the Cup. Then I\u2019m looking around and nobody else is getting water dumped on them, and I\u2019m like, \u2018Wait a minute \u2014 what\u2019s going on here?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n That was when Spoelstra learned of the milestone. He\u2019s the 17th coach in NBA history to win that many games and only the third to do it with one team, joining San Antonio\u2019s Gregg Popovich and Utah\u2019s Jerry Sloan.<\/p>\n \u201cIt hasn\u2019t sunk in yet because I wasn\u2019t aware of it. It\u2019s fitting that it comes on the eve of Thanksgiving,\u201d Spoelstra said. \u201cI just feel incredible gratitude for this organization and all of these years. I\u2019m having a hell of a time. I love what I do, I love coaching, I love this profession, I love working for this organization, I love working for \u2014 and with \u2014 amazing players and staff.\u201d<\/p>\n