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Miami Heat forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (7) drives to the basket against Brooklyn Nets forward Noah Clowney (21), in the second half of their preseason NBA basketball game at Kaseya Center, in Miami on October 14, 2026.<\/p>\n
Pedro Portal<\/p>\n
pportal@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n
Five takeaways from the Miami Heat\u2019s 144-128 exhibition win over the Brooklyn Nets in its fourth of five preseason games on Wednesday night at Kaseya Center. The Heat is now 3-1 this preseason:<\/p>\n
There was no Bam Adebayo, but new Heat star Giannis Antetokounmpo did play in Wednesday\u2019s exhibition. And Antetokounmpo looks ready for the start of the regular season.<\/p>\n
After Antetokounmpo and most of the other Heat rotation regulars sat out Saturday\u2019s preseason loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Antetokounmpo and most of the other Heat rotation regulars played Wednesday. But Heat starting center Bam Adebayo did not play against the Nets because of right groin tightness.<\/p>\n
Antetokounmpo made the most of Wednesday\u2019s preseason opportunity. The two-time NBA MVP turned in his most dominant performance of the preseason, finishing just one assist shy of a triple-double with 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field, 0-of-2 shooting on threes and 4-of-9 shooting from the foul line, 15 rebounds, nine assists, one steal and three blocks in a preseason-high 24 minutes.<\/p>\n
The Heat outscored the Nets by 15 points with Antetokounmpo on the court.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2018m probably like everybody else that\u2019s watching this and you can witness that level of greatness,\u201d Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Antetokounmpo\u2019s dominant display on Wednesday. \u201cAnd they were in bursts during particularly that first half. We\u2019re just very grateful to have him on our side in a Miami Heat uniform.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Spoelstra was not happy with the Heat\u2019s defense on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cOffensively, I don\u2019t have a ton of complaints,\u201d Spoelstra continued. \u201cThere are little things with our spacing that bother me, but it\u2019s not bothering them too much. And the ball is moving, we\u2019re getting the kind of shots that we want to. And obviously, Giannis creates a lot of that momentum, but our second unit also generates a lot of great shots. But we do need to shore up our defense. Our pick-and-roll defense in the first half was really bad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Antetokounmpo, who was acquired by the Heat in a blockbuster trade this past offseason, was a force from the start of the game. He totaled three points, three rebounds and two assists while drawing three fouls during the first 5:31 of the game before heading to the bench for his first rest of the night.<\/p>\n
By the end of the first quarter, Antetokounmpo already had eight points, six rebounds and three assists in eight minutes.<\/p>\n
But the opening period didn\u2019t end without a scary moment, as Antetokounmpo fell hard on his back side after being fouled on a dunk attempt late in the first quarter. But Antetokounmpo popped up quick, taking the ensuing two free throws and remaining in the game.<\/p>\n
The second quarter included more Antetokounmpo highlights, as he got a chase-down block on a layup attempt from Nets forward Julius Randle early in the period. Antetokounmpo also blocked a Noah Clowney dunk attempt a few minutes later, and then got the ball back for a spinning finger roll on the other end.<\/p>\n
Antetokounmpo entered halftime with 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field, 0-of-1 shooting on threes and 4-of-9 shooting from the foul line, 11 rebounds, five assists and three blocks in 16:28.<\/p>\n
Antetokounmpo then played into the second half for the first time this preseason, creating more highlights with a no-look alley-oop pass to center Nick Richards midway through the third quarter.<\/p>\n
Antetokounmpo exited the contest after his final stint of the night with 4:47 left in the third quarter.<\/p>\n
Antetokounmpo has averaged 15.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game in three appearances this preseason.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the more I play, the more comfortable I\u2019m going to get,\u201d Antetokounmpo said following Wednesday\u2019s exhibition win. \u201cBut I\u2019m good. I\u2019m in a good place. I\u2019m in a good place.\u201d<\/p>\n
The rest of the Heat\u2019s starters also played extended minutes on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Richards started at center for the ailing Adebayo alongside the four other projected Heat starters (Davion Mitchell, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and Antetokounmpo).<\/p>\n
Mitchell, Thompson, Wiggins and Antetokounmpo all played the most they have in a game this preseason on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Mitchell contributed 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field, 1-of-3 shooting from three-point range and 4-of-4 shooting from the foul line, three rebounds and four assists in 24 minutes. He left the game briefly in the third quarter to receive six stitches for a cut above his rye eye before returning.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs he was going off, he was like, \u2018Look, this is just going to be a handful of stitches. I want to play. I want to get my minutes like everybody else was able to do,\u2019\u201d Spoelstra said. \u201cAnd we allowed him to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thompson finished with 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field and 2-of-7 shooting on threes in 23 minutes.<\/p>\n
Wiggins recorded 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field and 1-of-5 shooting on threes, six rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block in 22 minutes.<\/p>\n
Richards, who is competing for a spot on the Heat\u2019s standard roster, totaled 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and 3-of-5 shooting from the foul line, five rebounds and one block in 16 minutes in his start for Adebayo. Richards\u2019 $3.1 million salary for this season becomes fully guaranteed if he\u2019s on Miami\u2019s roster on opening night next week unless the guarantee terms in his contract are amended before then.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s been doing what he does well,\u201d Spoelstra said of Richards. \u201cAnd oftentimes in this league, you have to simplify your role and just do what you do. He rebounds the ball really well. He plugs the paint. And if he\u2019s not blocking shots, he just has size and verticality where you feel his presence in the paint. And that\u2019s all we\u2019ve wanted him to do is just to be himself and play to his strengths. And he\u2019s really embraced that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Heat rookie guard Ryan Conwell again stood out.<\/p>\n
After stepping into a bigger role with most of the Heat\u2019s rotation regulars out and impressing in Saturday night\u2019s preseason loss to the Timberwolves, Conwell again made some positive plays on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Just a few nights after recording 17 points, four rebounds and nine assists in Saturday\u2019s exhibition, Conwell contributed 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 shooting on threes, two rebounds, one assist and two steals while posting a team-best plus\/minus of plus 21 on Wednesday. He got hot in Wednesday\u2019s third quarter, shooting 3 of 3 from behind the arc in the period.<\/p>\n
The Heat traded up to acquire Conwell, 22, with the 37th overall selection in the second round of this year\u2019s draft in June.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a good player,\u201d Antetokounmpo said of Conwell. \u201cVery good player, coachable, makes the right play. He\u2019s going to have a great future in this league. I\u2019m excited. I\u2019m excited to play with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Conwell was one of the first five players used off the Heat\u2019s bench on Wednesday along with Bobby Portis Jr., Tim Hardaway Jr., Nikola Jovic and Simone Fontecchio. Miami then played the back end of its roster in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n
Hardaway finished with 14 points on 4-of-10 shooting on threes and 2-of-8 shooting from three-point range, three rebounds and three assists in 20 minutes.<\/p>\n
Portis closed with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and 2-of-3 shooting on threes, two rebounds and three assists in 24 minutes.<\/p>\n
Fontecchio scored 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 shooting from behind the arc in 13 minutes.<\/p>\n
As for Adebayo, the Heat doesn\u2019t seem to concerned about his groin issue.<\/p>\n
Even with Wednesday\u2019s season opener against the Timberwolves just one week away, Spoelstra said he\u2019s not \u201coverly concerned\u201d with Adebayo\u2019s right groin tightness.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s day to day, so I\u2019m not overly concerned about it,\u201d Spoelstra said prior to Wednesday\u2019s exhibition.<\/p>\n
Adebayo, who watched the preseason game from the Heat\u2019s bench in street clothes, has averaged 9.5 points, five rebounds and one assist per game while shooting 41.7% from the field and 2 of 5 (40%) from three-point range in his two appearances this preseason.<\/p>\n
Adebayo has missed the Heat\u2019s last two exhibitions and it\u2019s unclear whether he\u2019ll play in Friday\u2019s preseason finale against the Magic in Orlando. Adebayo and most of the Heat\u2019s rotation regulars were held out of Saturday\u2019s exhibition against the Timberwolves before Adebayo sat out Wednesday\u2019s preseason game due to his groin ailment.<\/p>\n
Along with Adebayo, guards Pelle Larsson (illness) and Dru Smith (right calf strain) weren\u2019t available for the Heat on Wednesday. But two-way contract forward Keshad Johnson was available against the Nets after missing the Heat\u2019s first three preseason games because of a right hamstring strain.<\/p>\n
The Heat\u2019s healthy rotation regulars played in Wednesday\u2019s preseason, but it remains to be seen if they will play again before the start of the regular season.<\/p>\n
The Heat only has one preseason game left \u2014 Friday against the Magic in Orlando \u2014 before opening the regular season on Wednesday against the Timberwolves at Kaseya Center.<\/p>\n
Among the Heat\u2019s projected starters, Antetokounmpo, Wiggins, Mitchell and Thompson have played in three of the Heat\u2019s first four preseason games. Adebayo has played in two of Miami\u2019s first four exhibitions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll play the majority of our regulars tonight, and then we\u2019ll see where we are tomorrow,\u201d Spoelstra said of how he\u2019ll handle Friday\u2019s preseason finale. \u201cBut I want to build on what we did previously.\u201d<\/p>\n
This story was originally published October 14, 2026 at 10:06 PM.<\/p>\n
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