MIAMI – If preseason is for teaching, then lesson learned Thursday night for the Miami Heat: When Giannis Antetokounmpo is running free in transition, get him the ball.

With Antetokounmpo playing at speed, the pitch ahead proved money in the bank, further cementing every bit of offseason investment required to acquire the 10-time All-Star.

Able to play in space, either by thriving in transition, or going against the New Orleans Pelicans defense that was unable to build the proverbial anti-Giannis defensive wall, Antetokounmpo closed with 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting, four rebounds and four assists in 17:52 in the Heat’s 128-118 exhibition victory at Kaseya Center.

As with Saturday’s preseason-opening victory over the Toronto Raptors in Quebec City, Antetokounmpo’s action in this home debut was limited to the first half.

When it came to the preferred pace race of Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, the speed package with Antetokounmpo was evident in the halftime stats, with the Heat with a 23-4 fastbreak scoring advantage over the opening two periods, taking a 73-64 lead into the intermission.

With the other starters also given the second half off, the Heat also got 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting from Andrew Wiggins, nine points and five rebounds from Bam Adebayo, and nine points and seven assists from Davion Mitchell.

Five Degrees of Heat from Thursday night’s exhibition:

1. Same five: For the second time in as many exhibitions the Heat went with the presumptive opening-night lineup, starting Antetokounmpo, Adebayo, Wiggins, Mitchell and Klay Thompson.

Thompson in the first five appears to be the preference at shooting guard.

“Giannis has a reputation where you have to have multiple guys in front of him; Klay has a reputation where you don’t ever take a body off him,” Spoelstra said. “So it’s two conflicting things and we want to try to maximize that the best that we can.”

When it comes to the stylistic elements, Spoelstra said there is ample time to make it all work by the Oct. 21 regular-season opener against the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves.

“It feels like we have guys that are familiar with what we’re doing,” he said, “and then we’re incorporating the new guys. It’s no different from everybody else in the league. We’re just in the middle of our process right now.”

2. Three down: Dru Smith (calf) and Keshad Johnson (hamstring) remained out with ailments sustained during training camp last week at Florida Atlantic University.

Also unavailable for the Heat was guard Pelle Larsson, due to the illness that also had him out of Tuesday night’s intrasquad scrimmage.

With Smith and Larsson out, it left the Heat limited at point guard. Spoelstra, however, said he does not see depth at the position as an overwhelming concern.

“We have enough guys that can put the ball on the floor, initiate offense, attack,” he said. “I’m looking at more: Can we get to the good things? Can we get to our strengths? I feel we’ll be able to do that with the starting unit, whatever that ends up being.

“And the second unit, what we looked at in the preseason, I think we’re going to be able to do that. Will it be perfect? Nothing ever is perfect.”

3. In reserve: Bobby Portis was first off the Heat bench, entering midway through the opening period for Antetokounmpo.

Tim Hardaway Jr. then entered for Thompson, with Nikola Jovic entering for Wiggins. That had Jovic entering at small forward, in his preferred wing rotation.

Second-round pick Ryan Conwell, the guard out of Louisville, followed in place of Adebayo, with Antetokounmpo cycling back in at center with the second unit. That had Conwell playing as the de facto point guard.

Included in the second wave of substitutions was forward Simone Fontecchio, who stands as a fringe rotation possibility. He entered in the second period in place of Antetokounmpo.

The Heat opened the second half with a lineup of Jovic, Portis, Fontecchio, Conwell and Hardaway.

4. Klay’s way: Unlike Saturday’s preseason-opening victory over the  Raptors, when he attempted only two shots and went scoreless, Thompson was aggressive from the outset.

That had him taking the Heat’s first shot, an errant 3-pointer, with seven shots in the opening period, including 1 of 6 on 3-pointers.

Thompson’s made baskets in the period were a transition 3-pointer and a driving layup.

He closed 2 of 7 for five points, with three assists and three blocked shots, offering some stout defense.

5. Up next: Up next for the Heat is Saturday’s 8 p.m. exhibition against the Timberwolves, with the Heat then concluding their five-game preseason schedule with an Oct. 14 home game against the Brooklyn Nets and an Oct. 16 road game against the Orlando Magic.

The day after that exhibition finale in Orlando, the Heat will have to cut to no more than 15 players under standard contract and three under two-way contract. The Heat currently are carrying the NBA offseason maximum of 21 players.