Bam sits, but Giannis dominates in Heat’s preseason win over Nets. Takeaways and details
Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s 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:
There was no Bam Adebayo, but new Heat star Giannis Antetokounmpo did play in Wednesday’s exhibition. And Antetokounmpo looks ready for the start of the regular season.
After Antetokounmpo and most of the other Heat rotation regulars sat out Saturday’s 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.
Antetokounmpo made the most of Wednesday’s 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.
The Heat outscored the Nets by 15 points with Antetokounmpo on the court.
“I‘m probably like everybody else that’s watching this and you can witness that level of greatness,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Antetokounmpo’s dominant display on Wednesday. “And they were in bursts during particularly that first half. We’re just very grateful to have him on our side in a Miami Heat uniform.”
But Spoelstra was not happy with the Heat’s defense on Wednesday.
“Offensively, I don’t have a ton of complaints,” Spoelstra continued. “There are little things with our spacing that bother me, but it’s not bothering them too much. And the ball is moving, we’re 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.”
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.
By the end of the first quarter, Antetokounmpo already had eight points, six rebounds and three assists in eight minutes.
But the opening period didn’t 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.
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.
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.
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.
Antetokounmpo exited the contest after his final stint of the night with 4:47 left in the third quarter.
Antetokounmpo has averaged 15.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game in three appearances this preseason.
“I think the more I play, the more comfortable I’m going to get,” Antetokounmpo said following Wednesday’s exhibition win. “But I’m good. I’m in a good place. I’m in a good place.”
The rest of the Heat’s starters also played extended minutes on Wednesday.
Richards started at center for the ailing Adebayo alongside the four other projected Heat starters (Davion Mitchell, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and Antetokounmpo).
Mitchell, Thompson, Wiggins and Antetokounmpo all played the most they have in a game this preseason on Wednesday.
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.
“As he was going off, he was like, ‘Look, 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,’” Spoelstra said. “And we allowed him to do that.”
Thompson finished with 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field and 2-of-7 shooting on threes in 23 minutes.
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.
Richards, who is competing for a spot on the Heat’s 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’ $3.1 million salary for this season becomes fully guaranteed if he’s on Miami’s roster on opening night next week unless the guarantee terms in his contract are amended before then.
“He’s been doing what he does well,” Spoelstra said of Richards. “And 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’s not blocking shots, he just has size and verticality where you feel his presence in the paint. And that’s all we’ve wanted him to do is just to be himself and play to his strengths. And he’s really embraced that.”
Heat rookie guard Ryan Conwell again stood out.
After stepping into a bigger role with most of the Heat’s rotation regulars out and impressing in Saturday night’s preseason loss to the Timberwolves, Conwell again made some positive plays on Wednesday.
Just a few nights after recording 17 points, four rebounds and nine assists in Saturday’s 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’s third quarter, shooting 3 of 3 from behind the arc in the period.
The Heat traded up to acquire Conwell, 22, with the 37th overall selection in the second round of this year’s draft in June.
“He’s a good player,” Antetokounmpo said of Conwell. “Very good player, coachable, makes the right play. He’s going to have a great future in this league. I’m excited. I’m excited to play with him.”
Conwell was one of the first five players used off the Heat’s 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.
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.
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.
Fontecchio scored 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 shooting from behind the arc in 13 minutes.
As for Adebayo, the Heat doesn’t seem to concerned about his groin issue.
Even with Wednesday’s season opener against the Timberwolves just one week away, Spoelstra said he’s not “overly concerned” with Adebayo’s right groin tightness.
“He’s day to day, so I’m not overly concerned about it,” Spoelstra said prior to Wednesday’s exhibition.
Adebayo, who watched the preseason game from the Heat’s 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.
Adebayo has missed the Heat’s last two exhibitions and it’s unclear whether he’ll play in Friday’s preseason finale against the Magic in Orlando. Adebayo and most of the Heat’s rotation regulars were held out of Saturday’s exhibition against the Timberwolves before Adebayo sat out Wednesday’s preseason game due to his groin ailment.
Along with Adebayo, guards Pelle Larsson (illness) and Dru Smith (right calf strain) weren’t available for the Heat on Wednesday. But two-way contract forward Keshad Johnson was available against the Nets after missing the Heat’s first three preseason games because of a right hamstring strain.
The Heat’s healthy rotation regulars played in Wednesday’s preseason, but it remains to be seen if they will play again before the start of the regular season.
The Heat only has one preseason game left — Friday against the Magic in Orlando — before opening the regular season on Wednesday against the Timberwolves at Kaseya Center.
Among the Heat’s projected starters, Antetokounmpo, Wiggins, Mitchell and Thompson have played in three of the Heat’s first four preseason games. Adebayo has played in two of Miami’s first four exhibitions.
“I’ll play the majority of our regulars tonight, and then we’ll see where we are tomorrow,” Spoelstra said of how he’ll handle Friday’s preseason finale. “But I want to build on what we did previously.”
This story was originally published October 14, 2026 at 10:06 PM with the headline "Bam sits, but Giannis dominates in Heat’s preseason win over Nets. Takeaways and details."
