Lowry made his first five 3s and finished 7 of 10 from long range. The Heat were without injured All-Star center Bam Adebayo, but built a 19-point lead in first half and never trailed in winning for the ninth time in 10 games.

“With Bam sitting out, I knew it was an opportunity for me to get more shots,” Lowry said. “A good win on the road against a really, really good team.”

Miami’s been earning its frequent flyer mileage, as the Heat are playing a league-high 12 of 17 games to start the season outside South Florida.

Rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. had his best game as a pro with 22 points, and the Heat tied a franchise record with eight players in double figures — as their reserves played the entire fourth quarter.

The Cavs had their winning streak stopped at four. They were understandably dragging after winning in overtime at Philadelphia on Tuesday night to keep their hopes alive for a wild card in the NBA’s In-Season Tournament.

Darius Garland scored 14 points and Evan Mobley 13 to lead Cleveland, which has dealing with a spate of injuries. With the Cavs down 22 going into the fourth, coach J.B. Bickerstaff gave his starters some needed rest.

“You could see mentally, emotionally, physically, we just couldn’t find it tonight,” Bickerstaff said. “We played a great game last night and obviously expended a lot of energy. We tried, but we just couldn’t find it.

“We don’t make excuses, but it’s the basketball reality that we live in.”

Cavs rookie Craig Porter Jr. scored a team-high 16 in his first career start.

Both teams were missing their best players.

Adebayo sat out with a left hip bruise that he aggravated with a fall during a recent game. Adebayo leads the Heat in scoring (22.8 points), rebounds (10.2) and gives Miami a strong defensive presence inside.

“He’s able to do everything except jump, which is a really bad thing when you’re in the NBA,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Donovan Mitchell was out again for the Cavs, who have been shorthanded due to injuries most of the season. Mitchell, who averages a team-high 29.2 points, has missed four straight games with a hamstring injury the team is treating very cautiously.

Lowry set the tone right after the opening tip, making four 3-pointerrs in the first 4:49 as the Heat sprinted to a 19-7 lead.

The Cavs regrouped and quickly closed the gap, but Lowry hit his fifth straight 3 to make it 27-20. The Miami point guard’s first miss from deep came when he launched from 32 feet — a literal Heat check.

“Kyle was terrific, not just his shooting, but his pace,” Spoelstra said. “We needed him to be aggressive and assertive.”

Lowry said Miami’s coaching staff has been urging him and his teammates to go hard.

“The last 10 games I’ve been trying to push the pace and play a little faster,” he said. “Pushing the pace and keeping teams off balance is something we strive to do and we’re really good at it.”

Cleveland was still within striking distance in the third, but the Heat dropped five more 3-pointers — Lowry had two — to increase the lead to 101-79 after three.

“It seemed like they were all on fire,” Bickerstaff said. “They’re a veteran team and you could see the message early on was to run, run, run. We just couldn’t keep up.”

Miami reserve guard Dru Smith injured his right knee in the second quarter, when he stepped on a raised portion of the floor in front of Cleveland’s bench.

“It is a dangerous floor,” Spoelstra said. “We’ve had a couple of scares, when guys go in that corner. It’s just so dangerous.”

Heat forward Kevin Love didn’t make the trip for personal reasons. It would have been his first game back in Cleveland after being released last season. Love spent nine years with the Cavs and was a core member of their 2016 NBA title team.

“We set the tone our last game too, we just let up a little bit, so I’m glad that we did not do that,” said Jimmy Butler, who rested on the bench for the entire fourth quarter. “I love that. Let my teammates be great. They can have all the minutes and I’ll sit back and relax and enjoy the show.”

Butler scored 16 points against his former team.

The Heat have now won eight of their last nine games after a 1-4 start to the season. Miami nailed a season-high 17 of 35 3-point attempts from the field despite sharpshooter Tyler Herro missing his sixth-straight game with a right ankle sprain.

“Sometimes you do have the opportunities to get better from tough losses,” Heat coach Erik Spolestra said. “We were all very disappointed with how the fourth quarter went the other night. We felt that we were in control for a large part of the game and wound up losing the game. That can humble you.”

For a fourth consecutive game, the Bulls faced a large deficit in front of their home fans, falling behind 12-2 less than three minutes in after Duncan Robinson made two early 3-pointers. Robinson scored 11 of his 22 points in the first quarter and has hit at least one 3-pointer in every game so far this season.

“Duncan, when he does cut, he’s cutting and he’s finishing well at the rim,” Butler said. “He’s throwing lobs, he’s getting layups. He’s making the right passes, he’s handling the pick-and-roll. He’s so comfortable, he’s so confident, just like everyone else around here.”

Coby White led the Bulls with a season-high 20 points, including four 3-pointers. Nikola Vucevic scored 18 points, and DeMar DeRozan added 15.

Zach LaVine was limited to 13 points on a season-low nine shot attempts. Alex Caruso also finished with 13 points along with a block and a steal. For the defensive-minded Caruso, six straight games with double-digit scoring is the longest streak of his career.

“We weren’t down 20-1 this game,” LaVine said, referencing the Bulls early deficit Saturday night. “So that’s a positive.”

Rookie forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 19 points, while Kevin Love added 11 points with eight rebounds for a Heat bench unit that combined for 42 points, compared to just 21 for the Bulls’ reserves.

“It’s great to see how well the rook is playing,” Love said of Jaquez, a fellow UCLA product. “He was the one guy I watched more than anybody in his years at UCLA. I was tuning in watching him, love his game. I’m just happy I get to be on the right side of those dunks. He’s working extremely hard.”

UP NEXT

Heat: Visit the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.

Bulls: Begin a four-game road trip against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night.

For the third straight game, the Bulls fell behind by double digits and were forced to try to mount a comeback. Despite trailing 22-1 midway through the first quarter, with boos reigning down from the home fans, the Bulls managed to snap their three-game losing streak with a furious fourth-quarter rally.

Alex Caruso scored 11 points and all five Chicago starters reached double figures. Nikola Vucevic added 15 points, Coby White scored 14 and Zach LaVine contributed 13.

Jimmy Butler scored 25 for the Heat, who didn’t trail in the game until the final minute. But Butler missed a pair of 3-point attempts in the final seconds. Bam Adebayo had 24 points and 10 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season. Duncan Robinson added 17.

Alex Caruso’s 3-pointer in front of the Heat bench with 51.8 seconds remaining gave the Bulls their first lead of the game, before DeRozan’s turnaround 18-foot fadeaway put Chicago up for good with 22 seconds left. Despite a shooting performance that began miserably from the line and the field, DeRozan hit two free throws with five seconds left to put the game out of reach.

The Bulls missed their first 10 shots and fell behind 22-1 before LaVine broke the shooting drought with a running jumper more than seven minutes into the first quarter.

This was the first matchup between the teams since the Heat rallied from a late fourth-quarter deficit to win a Play-In Tournament game over the Bulls in April. From there, the Heat entered the playoffs and launched their improbable run to the NBA Finals.

UP NEXT

The teams play again on Monday, again at the United Center in Chicago.

Jimmy Butler scored 18 of his 36 points in the third quarter, and the Heat extended the NBA’s current longest winning streak to seven games by beating the Brooklyn Nets 122-115 on Thursday night.

Duncan Robinson added 26 for the Heat, who have won seven straight for the first time since Dec. 30, 2017-Jan. 14, 2018. Bam Adebayo scored 20 for Miami, which has won all seven of those games by single digits — and is one of only three teams without a double-digit win this season. Charlotte and Portland are the others.

“We’re getting a little more organized, more comfortable,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “And that allows you to be more confident.”

Mikal Bridges and Lonnie Walker IV each scored 23 for Brooklyn, which had won its last five games against Miami. Nic Claxton was 7 for 7 from the field and scored 16 for the Nets, and Cam Johnson added 16 as well.

Walker got his points in 26 minutes off the bench.

“He can score the ball,” Johnson said. “He’s been in attack mode. He’s been locked in.”

Miami lost to Brooklyn on Nov. 1 to fall to 1-4, the worst five-game start in Spoelstra’s 16 seasons. The Heat haven’t lost since and the 8-4 record ties for the fourth-best 12-game start under Spoelstra; the team opened 9-3 on three occasions in that span.

Butler’s 18-point third quarter tied his best for any regular-season quarter in a Heat uniform, done on two other occasions. He’s also had quarters of 18, 21 and 22 in playoff games for Miami.

For the Heat, it was part of a nine-game, 18-day stretch where they’ll play in eight different arenas. The only one they’ll visit twice in that span is the United Center in Chicago, where they’ll open a two-game set against the Bulls on Saturday night to begin a five-game trip.

“It was fun to play at home for once,” Butler said.

Johnson picked up his fourth foul with 3:40 left in the first half, making him the 12th player in the league this season to have that many before intermission — and the second Nets player to do so in as many games, after Claxton did it against Orlando on Tuesday. Johnson’s fourth was an offensive foul, drawn by Kevin Love.

It sent him to the bench. It sent the Heat off and running.

They finished the half on a 14-0 run, the last 12 of those coming following Love taking the charge against Johnson, and went into the break up 60-52. The Nets were 0 for 7 with three turnovers in that stretch, the last of those giveaways coming when Butler stripped Royce O’Neale and set up Haywood Highsmith for a layup 4 seconds before the buzzer.

Miami kept the lead for the entirety of the second half.

“Their little run going into halftime … you can’t have that momentum shift going into halftime,” Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said. “That’s something that we need to learn about, finishing the half and having the momentum going in your favor.”

Duncan Robinson added 18 points for Miami, which has scored 113.8 points per game during its six-game win streak. The Heat averaged 102.4 while stumbling to a 1-4 start this season.

No wonder Butler offered a simple explanation for the Heat’s turnaround.

“We’ve been scoring more points,” Butler said.

Miami is 2-0 in group play; the Hornets are 1-1.

The Heat finished off a 4-0 road trip that included wins against San Antonio, Atlanta and Memphis. But they still have a big challenge ahead. Miami returns home Thursday night, then heads back on the road for another five games.

“We talked at the start of this trip that this month would be an opportunity for us to be able to galvanize around a tough schedule and see if we can become better,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “It’s always harrowing on the road, but we have found different ways to win.”

P.J. Washington had 32 points and six of Charlotte’s season-high 15 3-pointers in the loss. LaMelo Ball added 28 points, 11 assists and six rebounds.

The Hornets jumped out to a 32-24 lead after a strong first quarter from Washington, who connected on all four 3s, and for a while it looked like it might be their night.

But Miami took advantage of Charlotte’s thin depth in the second quarter and built a 57-48 lead at the break after Butler banked in an off-balance buzzer-beater from halfcourt in traffic to close out the half.

When the Heat needed a basket, Butler or Adebayo had the answer — if not by making jumpers then by finding open teammates cutting to the basket.

Still, Charlotte would rally to cut the lead to 95-90 with eight minutes left after Ball lobbed a pass to Nick Richards for a one-handed dunk and Washington hit a transition 3.

But Butler, who finished 10 of 14 from the field, hit a key fallaway jumper to beat the shot clock with 1:11 left to put the Heat up by seven and essentially seal the win.

The Heat won despite shooting 25.8% (8 of 31) from beyond the arc compared to Charlotte’s 46.9% (15 of 32).

Jaime Jaquez Jr. had a big game off the bench for Miami with 17 points and five rebounds, while playing 32 minutes. He said he feels an extra motivation from teammates to play well in the tournament.

“I think it starting register as the season goes on and what we’re playing for,” Jaquez said. “We’ve got $500,000 on the line, so let’s try to win that prize money.”

The Hornets played without six players due to injury, including starters Gordon Hayward and Terry Rozier and top draft pick Brandon Miller and Cody Martin. That meant Theo Maledon and JT Thor were forced into starting roles.

Miles Bridges also remained out, serving the final game of his 10-game league-imposed suspension.

At times the Hornets looked out of sync with seldom-used reserves on the court, which coach Steve Clifford called unacceptable.

“Obviously you’ve got guys in there that don’t play a lot, but they get their reps and they should know what we’re doing,” Clifford said. “We blew two sets in the last three-and-a-half, four minutes there. They’ve all had enough reps so they should know where they’re going.”

Miami had every excuse to lose but they had more grit to win.

Duncan Robinson scored 26 points, Bam Adebayo added 24 points and 11 rebounds, and the Miami Heat rallied in the final quarter to beat the San Antonio Spurs 118-113 on Sunday night for their fifth straight win.

“Pushing back from a 19-point deficit on the second night of a back-to-back just shows our grit, shows our dedication, perseverance,” Adebayo said. “It shows our will to win.”

Robinson and Adebayo combined for 20 points in the final quarter as Miami won its fourth straight in San Antonio. Jimmy Butler added 19 points as the Heat overcame a 19-point deficit.

Keldon Johnson had 20 points and 12 rebounds and Victor Wembanyama added 18 points and 11 rebounds in the Spurs’ fifth straight loss.

Josh Richardson had 12 points, including six in the final two minutes, in his return to San Antonio after being traded to Miami in February.

The Heat had runs of 17-0, 18-5 and 12-0 to rally from multiple double-digit deficits against the Spurs.

“It was our first character game of the year,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Where you have to show something to be able to overcome that kind of deficit. To do it on the road, I think it’s a good win and good step. Hopefully we can build off that.”

With Tyler Herro missing the game with a sprained right ankle, the Heat opted to sit Kyle Lowry to rest on the second night of a back-to-back.

Miami had a slow start coming off a 117-109 win in Atlanta on Saturday.

The Heat were held to 15 points in the opening quarter, the lowest by a Spurs opponent in the period.

Wembanyama’s one-handed slam on a feed off a loose ball from McDermott gave the Spurs a 27-13 lead in the final minute of the first quarter.

Wembanyama finished 8 for 12 from the field, including 2 for 9 on 3-pointers, and had seven assists.

“People are putting a lot of expectations on that kid,” Adebayo said. “He’s a rookie. I was talking to (Spurs coach Gregg Popovich), and I was just saying he don’t even really know his routine right now. So, for everybody to be putting those expectations on him, he’s living up to those expectations. He’s trying to get the job done. He’s starting to figure it out.”

Trailing by 19 points early in the second quarter, the Heat rallied to forge a tie at 47-47. San Antonio would regain a double-digit lead in the third quarter only to have Miami take its first lead since the game’s opening basket on a pair of free throws by Kevin Love at 75-74.

The Heat did not commit a turnover in the final quarter while San Antonio had six turnovers in the period.

“It adds up,” Popovich said. ”(But) they are getting smarter each game.”

UP NEXT

Miami: At Charlotte on Tuesday.

Spurs: At Oklahoma City on Tuesday.

Miami was playing its first game since leading scorer Tyler Herro sprained his right ankle in Wednesday night’s 108-102 win at Memphis. Herro is expected to miss at least two weeks. Another top scorer, Jimmy Butler, missed the game against Atlanta for personal reasons.

The Heat showed off their depth to find scoring from different sources.

Kyle Lowry scored 17 points and Josh Richardson had 16, also a season high. Duncan Robinson scored 11 points in his first start of the season.

Trae Young led Atlanta with 27 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter, and 11 assists. Dejounte Murray had 23 points.

Jaquez, making his third start, almost doubled his previous high of 11 points against Memphis. .

Jaquez, the first-round pick from UCLA, hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to close the first half, giving Miami a 63-52 lead.

“We have a lot of guys who have been chomping at the bit to get more minutes,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said before the game. “They’re going to get their opportunity now. Guys are prepared.”

Miami led by 21 late in the first half. Atlanta’s last lead was 5-4.

The Hawks were averaging 121.8 points per game, third in the league. It was the best average through eight games for the franchise since the St. Louis Hawks averaged 117.5 in the start of the 1960-61 season.

Hawks guard Wesley Matthews (right calf) sank two 3-pointers in the third quarter and scored seven points in his first game of the season. Matthews’ father, Wesley Matthews Sr., played a combined 152 games with Atlanta (1980-83, 84 and 1990). They become the first father-son duo to play for the Hawks.

The Hawks debuted their fly city edition uniform which included the blue accent used in their 1968 first Atlanta uniform.

UP NEXT

Miami: Continues its four-game road swing at San Antonio on Sunday night.

Atlanta: Visits Detroit on Tuesday night.

Herro got hurt in Miami’s win at Memphis on Wednesday night. He returned to Miami on Thursday, was examined by team orthopedic surgeon Dr. Harlan Selesnick, and the diagnosis of a Grade 2 sprain followed soon afterward.

Herro — Miami’s leading scorer at what would be a career-best 22.9 points per game through the season’s first eight contests — will be in a walking boot for 10 days, re-evaluated in two weeks and a return-to-play timetable isn’t likely to be finalized until then.

“Right when it happened, I felt it and I kind of knew mentally,” Herro said after Wednesday’s game. “I heard some crunches and cracks in my ankle and I’m like ‘Yeah, that’ll be it.’ So, I actually told the bench ‘I’m done.’”

It’s the second time in 2023 that Herro will miss significant time after simply trying to make a routine basketball play.

The ankle sprain came on a play Wednesday where he attempted a floater in the lane — one of his go-to shots — and landed on the foot of Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr. And back in April, Herro dove for a loose ball late in the first half of Game 1 of Miami’s first-round playoff series at Milwaukee, breaking his hand on that play.

The broken hand kept Herro out for the remainder of Miami’s run to last season’s NBA Finals. This time, it’ll be at least seven games; if Herro’s ankle needs three weeks to heal, it’ll be a 10-game absence.

“We’ll get him back when we get him back,” Heat captain Bam Adebayo said. “Biggest thing for him is getting healthy and being able to stay at that high level he’s been at.”

Herro was averaging 25.3 points entering Wednesday, his average dipping after scoring six points in eight minutes against the Grizzlies.

Miami plays seven of its next eight games on the road, starting with a contest at Atlanta on Saturday.

Adebayo had 16 points in the fourth as Miami weathered a pair of Memphis rallies. The Grizzlies cut it to 105-102 on Santi Aldama’s 3-pointer with 35.5 seconds left, but Miami rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. countered with a 3 from the left corner with 18.4 left to seal it.

“I knew I was going to get an opportunity because of the way (the Grizzlies) were playing me. Not looking at me as a threat,” said Jaquez, the 18th overall pick last summer. “When I got the shot, I just continue to have confidence in my ability. I work too hard to not have faith in myself to shoot that shot.”

Kyle Lowery had 17 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists for Miami, and Jimmy Butler added 15 points.

Jaren Jackson Jr. led Memphis with 28 points. Desmond Bane had 15 points and Luke Kennard 13 as the Grizzlies remained winless at home. Bane, the Grizzlies leading scorer was 4 of 16 for the game and only 2 of 8 from outside the arc.

“We didn’t have a lot of guys play well,” Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said. “Credit the Heat. Their physicality really bothered us. I think we were frantic at times. Just couldn’t get a rhythm going.”

Although Memphis occasionally chipped away at the Miami advantage, particularly in the third quarter, the Heat would craft a run each time. But Memphis pulled to 77-76 heading into the fourth.

That was part of a 17-4 run spanning the third and fourth quarters where Memphis overtook the Heat. At that point, the teams settled into a pattern of exchanging leads. But Miami had its own rally to build a large advantage. Miami coach Erik Spoelstra noted Adebayo’s play, but also from Jaquez, the rookie from UCLA, on both ends of the floor.

“He has some poise, some savviness about him defensively,” Spoelstra said of Jaquez, “so he can play with the vets. … even though he’s a rookie.”

The Heat lost starting guard and leading scorer Tyler Herro when he rolled his right ankle on a first-quarter drive. He limped to the locker room and didn’t return.

In the locker room after the game, Herro was on crutches with a wrap around the injured ankle. He grimaced in pain as he dressed. He called it “unfortunate” that he stepped on Jaren Jackson Jr.’s foot, causing his ankle to roll. He indicted that he will probably be out “a couple of weeks.”

“It was something I felt right away when it happened,” Herro said. “I heard something crunching and cracking in my ankle.”

While Miami won its third straight and ended its road woes at least for one night, Memphis continued to suffer through a miserable start to the season. The Grizzlies, who were dominant at home last season, still haven’t chalked up a home win and have started the season 1-7.

“We have a group that fights to the very end,” Kennard said. “It was a little too late there at the end. Three were spurts in the game that we were kind of out of it, and they go on runs.

“We stayed with it to the end of the game. It’s definitely a tough loss. Being 1-7 isn’t where we want to be.”

UP NEXT

Heat: At Atlanta on Saturday.

Grizzlies: Host Utah on Friday in the NBA In-Season Tournament.

The NBA, which reviews every stat from every game and often makes changes during and even after contests, took away one of the rebounds Adebayo was credited with in Miami’s 108-107 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night.

That means Adebayo’s final line was 22 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists. Still a triple-double, the sixth of his regular-season career and seventh when including playoff games — just not one of the 20-rebound variety.

The only other player in Heat history to grab 19 rebounds as part of a triple-double was Lamar Odom, who had 30 points, 19 rebounds and 11 assists in Miami’s 102-96 win over Sacramento on March 6, 2004.

The long-awaited move was completed Tuesday, when Haslem was hired as Miami’s new vice president of basketball development. It comes five months after his 20-year playing career with the Heat ended, the last 16 of those as a team captain.

Haslem is one of two players to play for all three of Miami’s NBA title teams, with Dwyane Wade being the other. Haslem had long spoken of joining the Heat front office or ownership group after retirement, and he had been at some practices in recent weeks.

Haslem — a Miami native and the franchise’s all-time rebounding leader — was the NBA’s oldest active player at 43 when he retired after last season. The three-time champion was the third player to spend a two-decade career with one franchise, joining Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki and the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant.

He also became the oldest player to appear in an NBA Finals game, doing so two days before his 43rd birthday when the Heat played the Nuggets in June.

Among his new Heat duties: working with the coaching staff, mentoring both Heat players and those assigned to the team’s G League affiliate in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and representing the organization in the community.

Both were absolutely required for the Miami Heat to hold off LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night.

Adebayo had the first 20-rebound triple-double in Miami history, Jimmy Butler scored 28 points and the Heat survived a big offensive drought at the end to beat the Lakers 108-107 — a game in which no points were scored in the final 2:38.

Adebayo had 22 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists for Miami in his sixth regular-season triple-double. Tyler Herro also scored 22 for the Heat and Duncan Robinson added 12 for Miami — which won despite having no field goals in the final 4:14.

“Kudos to Miami,” James said. “They played some really good ball tonight. We were able to match their intensity. We played some really good ball as well.”

James led all scorers with 30 points for the Lakers, who fell to 0-4 on the road. Austin Reaves was an assist shy of a triple-double, finishing with 23 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

“Bron was phenomenal. … That’s a tough team to go against,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said.

The Lakers didn’t have Anthony Davis for the final 14 minutes; he left the game twice with a left hip spasm and finished with nine points and six rebounds.

“Let it calm down, get treatment, get ready to suit up on Wednesday,” Davis said.

Adebayo was called for traveling with 8.9 seconds remaining, giving the Lakers a final chance. The inbounds pass went to James, who drove right and found a wide-open Cam Reddish for what would have been a game-winning corner jumper.

It bounced off the rim, Butler secured the rebound and time expired.

“LeBron’s going to be LeBron and pass the ball to the open man,” Butler said. “He did that. He literally whipped it to the corner … Cam shot it and missed it. Good for us.”

Another huge play late: Lowry taking a charge against James with 1:57 left, with the listed difference in height and weight among those players being nine inches and 55 pounds.

“In those kind of moments, he’ll figure out how to make a winning play,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Lowry.

Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell got ejected with 7:52 left for picking up a pair of technical fouls for arguing, and the free throws by Herro put the Heat up 100-88 — just 32 seconds after the Lakers had a chance to get within three points.

Taurean Prince missed a 3-pointer that would have cut Miami’s six-point lead in half, and the game quickly changed. Jaime Jaquez Jr. had a layup, then Russell had a turnover, and Jaquez Jr. had another layup. Adebayo had assists on both of those scores by Jaquez, giving him the triple-double, and Russell was ejected for arguing after the second basket.

Ham also got a technical late in the third, and the Lakers had a delay-of-game technical — those free throws all proving costly in a one-point loss.

“All I want is an explanation sometimes,” Ham said. “To not get that for the rest of the game once I got my technical … Miami plays a physical brand of basketball. We’re not complaining about how physical they are. We just want balance and consistency. That’s it.”

James and the Los Angeles Lakers were the first opponent to hit the new court, with them making their annual visit to Miami for a Monday night contest. The court is part of the team’s primary marketing scheme for 2023-24, with plans calling for the Heat to use the new floor and the uniforms with ‘Culture’ across the front several times throughout the season.

James took a trip down memory lane Monday, when asked about the court and reflecting on his four seasons with Miami — a span that led to four NBA Finals trips, along with the first two of his four NBA titles. Back then, ‘culture’ was a Heat philosophy and buzzword; it wasn’t splashed on shirts until years later.

“We didn’t really talk about it too much,” James said. “It was just, you come in, and you work, and the product of how much you put in the work was going to pay off on the floor.”

The mantra — “hardest working, best conditioned, most professional, unselfish, toughest, meanest, nastiest team in the NBA” — has been the core of what Riley has spent nearly 30 years building and nurturing in Miami.

“You know, I think everybody on the outside, they probably hear it so much, they’re probably tired of hearing about it,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of the ‘culture’ credo. “But we don’t care. You have to stand for something and we stand for that.”

It was in the summer of 2010 when the Heat found a way to bring James and Chris Bosh to Miami to play alongside Dwyane Wade. Spoelstra — one of the league’s newest coaches at that time — is still coaching the Heat, his current tenure now the second-longest with one team in the NBA behind only San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich.

To James, that’s the culture — how Riley, Spoelstra, managing general partner Micky Arison, general manager Andy Elisburg and many other top executives — were in Miami long before he arrived, and remain there.

“Besides San Antonio, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots, I think those are the only franchises that you can say have the same stability as the Miami Heat,” James said.

And James still sees parallels between the way he thinks and the way Riley thinks.

“Riles always talked keeping the main thing the main thing,” James said. “And that’s what it’s always been for me.”

James spent his first seven NBA seasons in Cleveland. He left Miami in 2014 to return to Cleveland, won a title there in 2016, and is in his sixth season with the Lakers. He’s won a title there — against Miami in 2020 in the bubble — plus passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar last season as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and is now the league’s oldest active player.

“I was 25 years old when I came here. Still a kid, even though I was seven years in. Still a kid,” James said after shootaround Monday in the Heat arena where his number will one day be retired. “I came here for one reason and one reason only — to win championships. That was my only goal. That’s the only reason why I teamed up with D-Wade and Bosh, because I felt like I couldn’t do it in Cleveland. I tried to recruit guys to come to Cleveland, tried to go and help upstairs, and it wasn’t happening. So, I had an opportunity to be a free agent and did what I thought was best for my career.”

Tyler Herro scored 24 points and was an assist shy of a triple-double, Jimmy Butler added 20 points and the Heat snapped a four-game slide by beating the Washington Wizards 121-114 on Friday night.

Herro finished with 10 rebounds and nine assists for Miami. Bam Adebayo and Duncan Robinson each scored 18 for the Heat, who shot 60%.

“We’ve got a long way to go,” Herro said.

It was the first In-Season Tournament game for both teams. The Heat — who won on their newly painted red court and ‘Heat Culture’ jerseys — and Wizards are in East Group B along with Milwaukee, New York and Charlotte. The Bucks beat the Knicks 110-105 in the other East B game Friday night.

The Wizards next play a tournament game Nov. 10 at home against Charlotte; Miami’s next tourney game is Nov. 14 at Charlotte.

Kyle Kuzma had 22 points for Washington, which got 19 from Jordan Poole and 14 from Deni Avdija.

“I think we need to play better and play a little bit harder for sure,” Kuzma said. “I think we all need to be better.”

The Wizards missed their first shot, then made their next 10 as part of a statistically bonkers opening quarter.

Washington shot 76.5% in the quarter, the best rate in the NBA this season, the Wizards’ best first quarter in their last 295 games (since Dec. 16, 2019) and the highest percentage allowed by the Heat in an opening period since an NBA Finals game against San Antonio on June 10, 2014 — 814 games ago, including playoffs.

Most of that early spree by the Wizards came against Miami’s fifth starting combination in its last five games. It marked only the third time in Heat history that they’ve used five different lineups in the season’s first six games; it also happened in 1994-95 and again in 2020-21, with the lineup changing in all six games that season. Haywood Highsmith started at power forward, even though Kevin Love — who didn’t play — was available.

“Kevin brings so much from a spirit and connection and leadership standpoint,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who agonized over the decision to not play Love. “This is just a move for now.”

But all those early Wizards makes didn’t even get Washington a lead after 12 minutes: it was 34-34 at the end of the first quarter, and Miami eventually took a 10-point lead before settling for a 60-54 edge at the half.

And then in the third, the Heat took control.: Miami outscored Washington 41-27, taking a 101-81 edge into the fourth. The Heat led by 25 midway through the fourth before Washington — using mostly backups — used a 15-0 run to get within 115-105.

The Wizards have allowed at least 31 points in all five of their third quarters this season.

“We allow teams all those big runs in the third,” Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. said. “We have to figure that out. Give them credit; they came out ready to go in that third quarter.”

The Wizards lost despite shooting 57%.

“The offense, definitely good tonight,” Butler said. “Defense, not as much.”

UP NEXT

Wizards: At Philadelphia on Monday night.

Heat: Host the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night.

Good call.

Brooks scored 17 points off the bench in 16 minutes, Mikal Bridges led Brooklyn with 21 points and the Nets erased a 15-point second-half deficit to beat the Miami Heat 109-105 on Wednesday night.

“That’s the best part of basketball, showing up with who you have and staying together as a team and pulling out a victory on the road against a really good team,” Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said.

The Nets outscored Miami 55-25 when Brooks was on the floor, 36-16 in his two second-half stints. He was 6 of 7 from the floor, 5 of 6 from 3-point range.

“Landed about 7 o’clock last night, went to shootaround and prepped ourselves to get ready to play,” Brooks said.

It was his first NBA game since April 2022, and it was Trendon Watford’s Nets debut. He had 11 points and was a plus-19 in 14 minutes. Lonnie Walker IV added 17 for the Nets, Dorian Finney-Smith scored all 15 of his points in the second half for Brooklyn, and Cam Thomas scored 13.

Tyler Herro scored 30 points for Miami, which has dropped four straight to fall to 1-4 — its worst five-game start since opening 0-5 in the 2007-08 season.

“We can’t feel sorry for ourselves at this point of the year,” Herro said. “It’s still early, obviously. But at some point, this has to matter to us. We can’t keep losing games and think it’s OK.”

Bam Adebayo scored 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for Miami, and Jimmy Butler scored 20 points for the Heat.

“We don’t want to dig this hole too deep,” said Adebayo, now the Heat captain. “That’s the concern.”

Brooklyn’s bench outscored Miami’s 50-26.

Miami nearly blew a 19-point lead in the season-opener against Detroit, winning that game by one and escaping when Cade Cunningham missed a 3-pointer as time expired.

Against Boston on Friday, an early 13-point lead wasn’t close to enough in what became a 119-111 loss. And then against the Nets, Miami saw the 15-point second-half lead vanish relatively fast.

“We certainly have to sustain,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We have to find a way to sustain it more consistently, and better, and that’s what we’re focused on. … We just have to be better at sustaining our game.”

Miami led by 16 in the first half and was up 75-60 with 4:30 left in the third quarter. The Nets outscored Miami 38-17 over the next 12 minutes.

The Heat fell to 6-3 when playing on Spoelstra’s birthday during his tenure as head coach. Miami had won its last five birthday games — the last loss coming at Brooklyn in 2013.

Miami used its fourth starting lineup in as many games, this time with Adebayo back in after missing Monday’s loss at Milwaukee and with Kevin Love sidelined by a bruised left shoulder. Rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. took Love’s spot in the lineup.

UP NEXT

Nets: Visit Chicago on Friday in an In-Season Tournament game.

Heat: Host Washington on Friday in an In-Season Tournament game.

Pretty appropriate, considering he had just helped the Bucks survive a late scare.

Antetokounmpo and the Bucks built a 25-point lead and then saw most of it wither away against Miami’s reserves before they held off the Heat 122-114 Monday night.

“Once you’re up 20, you’ve got to put them away,” said Antetokounmpo, who scored 33 points. “You’ve got to put them away. We weren’t able to do that tonight. Hopefully we can learn from this.”

After trailing 103-78 with less than 10 1/2 minutes remaining, Miami got the margin down to single digits over the next seven minutes. A jumper by Duncan Robinson cut the lead to 115-109 with 1:22 left, but Antetokounmpo converted a three-point play six seconds later.

The Bucks’ lead didn’t drop below six the rest of the way.

“We earned that 25-point deficit,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “And then that young group came in and really battled, did a lot of good things. I’m sure Milwaukee was just wanting to play it out and hoping we were going to go away.”

Damian Lillard scored 25 points and Bobby Portis had 16 for the Bucks. Tyler Herro had 35 points to lead the Heat, who were playing without two-time All-Star center Bam Adebayo due to a bruised hip.

This game carried more intrigue than a typical October matchup because of the postseason and offseason connections between the teams.

The Heat stunned the top-seeded Bucks in last season’s playoffs, winning their first-round series in five games. The Heat ended up going all the way from the play-in round to the NBA Finals, while the Bucks responded to the upset by firing coach Mike Budenholzer and replacing him with former Toronto Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin.

Milwaukee executed the biggest move of the offseason by acquiring Lillard, who expressed a preference to play for the Heat when he initially requested a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers.

Lillard said before the game he wouldn’t have any particular emotion about this matchup just because of this summer’s trade discussions. He still felt that way afterward.

“There really was no extra energy toward that, I think, on either side,” Lillard said.

The Bucks took the lead for good at the start of the second quarter and seemed on their way to a blowout until the Heat’s late rally.

Miami outscored Milwaukee 41-25 in the fourth quarter, even though Herro was the only Heat starter on the floor during that final period. Spoelstra said he didn’t put Jimmy Butler or the other starters back in because the bench had helped get the Heat back within striking distance.

Butler ended up with 13 points in 29 minutes.

“Our guys were changing the momentum,” Spoelstra said. “That sometimes can be frustrating when you’re on the other side. They just want you to go away. Our guys were doing it with great energy and doing a lot of good things. Part of me also wanted to see if they could just continue to get it over the top.”

The Bucks are all too familiar with the Heat’s penchant for late rallies.

In last year’s playoffs, Miami produced a 119-114 Game 4 victory by outscoring the Bucks 30-13 in the final six minutes. The Heat rallied from a 16-point, fourth-quarter deficit to win the clinching game 128-126 in overtime.

“When you have a chance to put them away, you’ve got to put them away – because they’re going to keep coming,” Antetokounmpo said.

UP NEXT

Heat: Host Brooklyn on Wednesday.

Bucks: At Toronto on Wednesday.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said at his pregame media session that Adebayo wouldn’t be available. The two-time All-Star had been listed as questionable on the injury report.

Spoelstra said Adebayo got hurt during the Heat’s 106-90 loss at Minnesota on Saturday.

“He took that hard spill, and then when we got into town yesterday, it was pretty sore,” Spoelstra said. “It didn’t get much better today.”

Monday marks the first time the teams have faced off since the Heat stunned the top-seeded Bucks 4-1 in the first round of last season’s playoffs. Adebayo averaged 17.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and 5 assists in that series.

All 30 teams, when playing home games in the tournament that starts Friday and runs through Dec. 9, will have a primarily solid-color court on the floor of their arena. The courts will be fully painted, with no visible woodgrain.

The league first released the designs to ESPN, one of its broadcast partners, on Monday before releasing the list publicly. The league did not say what the cost of the project was.

The courts all largely follow the same design scheme, with the NBA Cup — the tournament’s trophy — displayed both at midcourt and in the lanes, a 16-foot-wide runway in a contrasting color down the center of the floor and team names on the baseline.

It will mark the first time that Boston, Chicago, the Los Angeles Lakers, Portland and New Orleans play on an alternate home court, the league said.

Tinkering with court designs is not a new concept. Most notably, FIBA — the sport’s international governing body — approved glass floors for play in top competitions last year.

It hasn’t taken an ounce out of the rivalry’s intensity.

Derrick White had 28 points, including five 3-pointers, and the Celtics rallied to beat the Heat 119-111 on Friday night in a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference finals.

Jaylen Brown added 27 points and six rebounds. Jayson Tatum finished with 22 points in the latest matchup of the East rivals, who’ve met in the conference finals three of the past four seasons.

On a team that has ridden the exploits of Tatum and Brown during their most recent playoff runs, this time it was White who shined down the stretch, scoring 14 fourth-quarter points.

“I’ve been here a couple of years and I know where guys are supposed to be at,” White said. “I’m just trying to get people in the right spots and lead from that way.”

Said Tatum: “The talent has always been there. He’s just starting to show more emotion. … I try to tell him to always be aggressive, don’t just look for me.”

He didn’t, and the Celtics improved to 2-0 with a new-look roster that is showing a poise late in games that it didn’t at times last season.

Boston and Miami split their four meetings last season. Miami then emerged in the playoffs after a seven-game slugfest in which it had a 3-0 series lead erased before beating the Celtics in Game 7 in Boston to advance to its seventh NBA Finals.

Friday’s matchup, the first of their three this season, at times felt like an extension of that series.

Neither team led by more than five points at the end of any of the first three periods, as both teams hovered near 50% shooting from the field. There were six ties and six lead changes on the night.

Tyler Herro, who sat out the conference finals with a hand injury, had 28 points and five of Miami’s 16 3-pointers.

“I liked our fight,” Herro said. “Obviously, there’s no moral victories in this. But Game 2, I think there’s a lot to take away from tonight.”

Bam Adebayo added 27 points and seven rebounds. Jimmy Butler finished with 14 points on 3-of-11 shooting.

“We’ve had this with them for four years since the (Florida) bubble. And literally it’s been a privilege to face them so many times. But both teams have changed. That’s the way this league goes. That’s the way life goes,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “You just want to compete against teams you respect and have had battles with. They were better at it tonight.”

Miami led 88-87 entering the fourth quarter before Boston nudged in front 96-90 led by White, who scored eight straight Celtics points.

Boston’s lead grew to 109-102 with just over four minutes to play before Adebayo blocked Brown’s shot from behind. Butler collected the loose ball, sprinted ahead and was going in for a dunk when a trailing White chased him down and blocked Butler’s dunk attempt.

“The plays he made tonight were sick. They were just sick plays,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “It’s the only way you can describe it.”

A turnover by White gave the ball back to Miami and Butler drew Kristaps Porzingis’ sixth foul on a putback attempt. Butler then knocked down two free throws to cut the Celtics’ lead to 109-104.

Boston got it back up to 112-104 on a layup by Brown and free throw by Tatum.

But another Heat flurry, capped by a 3-pointer by Kevin Love, cut the lead to 114-111 with 59 seconds to play.

White was fouled and connected on both free throws. Herro got open for another 3-point try but came up empty. The Celtics pushed the ball up the floor and Brown sealed it with a 3 from the wing.

“Tonight we were intentional,” Mazzulla said. “We attacked the right matchups. We got to our spots. … We still didn’t play great fourth-quarter basketball. But for Game 2 of what we’re trying to get to it was a good start.”

The Celtics began the night by honoring the victims of this week’s mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine with several acknowledgements. Boston players wore the warmups of their G League affiliate, the Maine Celtics. In addition, the Celtics donned a “Maine” band on their jerseys in honor of the state as it recovers after a shooter killed 18 people and wounded 13 at a bowling alley and a bar there.

The remembrances also included a pregame moment of silence.

UP NEXT

Heat: Continue three-game road trip at Minnesota on Saturday.

Celtics: At Washington on Monday.

Bam Adebayo scored 22 points, Jimmy Butler finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds and the Heat held off the Detroit Pistons 103-102 on Wednesday night in the season opener for both clubs. The Heat led by 19 with 9:07 left, went scoreless in the final 2:57 and survived when a 30-footer by Detroit’s Cade Cunningham missed as time expired.

“I loved it,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “I loved the emotion tonight. I loved the energy. A lot of good things.”

Tyler Herro scored 16 points, Duncan Robinson added 15 and Kevin Love had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the reigning Eastern Conference champion Heat. Miami was 14-8 in games decided by three points or less last season, 16-9 when adding in the playoffs — and now, 1-0 this season.

“Hopefully, this isn’t the start of another season where we’re going to be playing a clutch game every night,” Herro said. “But it is fun.”

Cunningham had 30 points and nine assists for the Pistons. Jalen Duren had 17 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and four blocks for Detroit, Isaiah Stewart had 14 points and 14 rebounds and Killian Hayes scored 10.

“The way that our team as a whole competed throughout, that’s something we can build off of, for sure,” Cunningham said.

Detroit put together a 14-0 run — spanning only 2:43 — to get within 94-89, the closest the Pistons had been to the lead since midway through the second quarter. And they didn’t stop there: back-to-back scores off turnovers, the second of them a 3-point by Cunningham, got the Pistons within one.

Detroit had four shots in the final 64 seconds for the lead. All missed, and Miami escaped.

“A win is a win, as Spo would tell you, as I would tell you, as anybody in that locker room would tell you,” Butler said.

Miami improved to 20-16 all-time in openers, 10-6 under Spoelstra. Detroit fell to 38-40 in openers and dropped the first game of the Monty Williams coaching era with the Pistons.

“We have a resilient group,” Williams said. “The guys believe in what we’re doing. They believe in each other. … I think that stuff is really important.”

The Heat led most of the way and needed every bit of that lead to survive in the end. By halftime, Miami had a 21-4 lead in points off turnovers (it was 21-0 late in the half), a 9-0 lead in fast-break points and a 30-12 lead on points in the paint.

And the Heat lead was just 58-47 at the break. The reason: Cunningham.

He was brilliant, shooting 8 of 11 for 18 points in the first two quarters. But his teammates shot only 10 of 30 in the opening half, while Miami was far more balanced — three players in double figures, five with at least seven points by the break.

The Heat outscored Detroit 32-18 in the second. Take the other three quarters, the Pistons outscored the Heat 84-71.

“We played the kind of basketball we played for three quarters,” Williams said. “We had a bad second quarter.”

Luis Arraez, the 2023 batting champion from the Miami Marlins, and actor Sylvester Stallone were in the sold-out crowd. There were a pair of tributes — one in-game for longtime Heat season-ticket holder Jimmy Buffett, the singer-songwriter who spent decades of his life in the Florida Keys, and the other a pregame moment for longtime Heat stat crew chief Jim Cox. Both died in September.

UP NEXT

Pistons: Visit Charlotte on Friday.

Heat: Visit Boston on Friday.

This goes far beyond your typical burgers and hot dogs. It’s a menu fit for any top restaurant you’d find in South Florida.

“Welcome to 601, with our new reinvented, re-imagined menu,” said Juan Prieto, executive chef.

This season will be bringing the heat , and not just on the court, but also in the kitchen.

The Miami Heat organization’s newest executive chef, Prieto, has been cooking up something special for fans and gave us a little taste of what’s to come.

“It’s Latin and Asian fusion cuisine,” he said.

Prieto invited everyone, basketball fan or not, to try out the dishes. Come for the game and stay for the food.

“This area is one of the accessible areas in the arenas where you just need a regular ticket, you don’t need to be a special member or a season ticket member to come in here,” he said.

There’s a array of mouthwatering dishes for fans to choose from at the Kaseya Center.

Perhaps shrimp ceviche is more your style or one with fresh blast of watermelon.

In the mood for some savory meat? Try the ropa vieja steam buns. But rumor has it, the nachos are the way to go.

“The nachos were fantastic, it was very vibrant the flavors were delicious, it was incredible, definitely highly recommend,” said Francesca Furfaro, Miami Heat event manager.”

“It’s not your traditional nacho, but it has become very popular amongst the guests who’ve tried it already,” Prieto said.

So while you cheer your Miami Heat on as they try to make a return to the NBA finals, at least you won’t have to do it on an empty stomach.

Chef? Your recommendations, please?

“Pork belly Masitas are personally my favorite component of the menu, very moist, and succulent and they give off a great flavor,” Prieto said.

For a full list of all things food at the Kaseya Center, is on our website, click here.

With the current Miami core — Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro — about to start its fifth season together, the Heat president said he still believes his team has “as good a chance as anybody” to win the Eastern Conference. But he also indicated that what happens this season could have a serious effect on what the Heat look like next season.

“If you build a team around one or two players, three players, and you don’t win the championship, then you might have to start thinking: ‘OK, this is not going to work. This is not going to happen,’” Riley said in an interview with The Associated Press. “Maybe you see that in Milwaukee, maybe you see that in Boston. They got to those windows and made moves.”

The Bucks — who won the NBA title in 2021 — revamped their core this offseason by trading for Damian Lillard, who originally hoped to go to Miami but wound up seeing Portland strike a deal for its onetime franchise player in Milwaukee. The Celtics then ended up with Jrue Holiday, the point guard Milwaukee traded away to help acquire Lillard.

Had Miami made a big deal this summer, it likely would have involved trading Herro — who didn’t enjoy another summer of trade rumors — to make salaries match up. Herro is making $27 million this season, and Miami’s payroll of around $180 million enters the season as the sixth-largest in the NBA.

“We have never shopped him and had no interest in ever trading the guy,” Riley said of Herro. “But when you’re talking about acquiring one of the top five players in the league, there isn’t anybody on our team that won’t be discussed.”

Riley, who is about to start his 29th season in Miami, said those moves obviously put Milwaukee and Boston in the East drivers’ seats. But the Heat have won the East in two of the past four seasons, falling short in the NBA Finals in 2020 and again last season.

“To win it, it’s going to take this mentality on the part of our team and on the part of our three best players — most importantly, Jimmy and Bam and Tyler,” Riley said. “They’re the guys we really look to, the guys that are getting paid, they have to have far and away their career-best years that impact winning. So, whatever that is, scoring, rebounding, assists, not turning it over, defensively, whatever it is … that’s what it’s going to take.”

The division had one team finish with a winning record, that being Miami. It had one All-NBA player, that being Miami’s Jimmy Butler. It had one All-Star, that being Miami’s Bam Adebayo. And one team that won a playoff series, that being … yep, Miami, which went all the way to the NBA Finals as the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference.

So in the Southeast, there’s the Heat. And everybody else.

Yet Miami still feels like it is doubted after an offseason where it hoped to land Damian Lillard in a trade with Portland — only to see him sent to Milwaukee instead after the Trail Blazers simply didn’t engage much with the Heat in any talks.

“We have enough motivation,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We have enough, everything we need, to be one of those teams and that’s what excites all of us as competitors.”

The Southeast was the only division last season to have just one team finish over .500; Miami was 44-38. The combined winning percentage of the five Southeast teams — .441 — was second-worst in the NBA, slightly ahead of the Southwest Division’s .427 win rate. Atlantic teams combined to have a .595 winning percentage, Pacific teams were at .546, Northwest teams were at .500 and Central teams were at .490.

There were two Southeast teams in the playoffs a season ago; Atlanta beat Miami in the play-in tournament to grab the No. 7 seed, then fell to Boston in Round 1. The Heat won a play-in elimination game over Chicago to get the No. 8 seed, then ousted Milwaukee, New York and the Celtics before falling to Denver in the NBA Finals.

“A lot of our improvement and development needs to come internally,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “That’s something that I think is important for us.”

The same can be said for Washington, Charlotte and Orlando as well. The Wizards are in a reboot after trading away Bradley Beal, and the Hornets and Magic are both thinking it’s possible to reach — at minimum — the play-in tournament this season, which would be a step forward for both franchises.

The Magic are hoping that bringing back much of the same team for another season will help fast-track some growth.

“These guys know exactly what they’re going to hear from our coaches, the things that we’re teaching, how we’re expected to play, what we’re demanding,” Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said. “I think they understand that a lot more now and I think that’s a huge advantage for us.”

Since the NBA went to its current division setup 19 years ago, the Heat have had only three losing seasons – by far the fewest in the Southeast. Charlotte has had 15, Orlando has had 13, Washington has had 10 and Atlanta has had eight.

A look at the Southeast Division in predicted order of finish:MIAMI HEAT

The defending Eastern Conference champions have one of the game’s best all-around players in Butler, perhaps the league’s most versatile defender in Adebayo and one of the best coaches in Spoelstra. And there is elite veteran presence as well, with Kevin Love and Kyle Lowry among the team’s biggest voices.

Tyler Herro survived another summer of trade rumors and said he’s looking to take another step forward. He missed almost all of last season’s run to the finals after breaking his hand in Game 1 of Round 1 at Milwaukee.

The clear Southeast favorites, though the Heat are seeking much more than a division prize.ORLANDO MAGIC

The Magic are super-young and rookie of the year Paolo Banchero doesn’t turn 21 until Nov. 12. Of Orlando’s expected starters, Markelle Fultz is the old man in the group. And he’s all of 25.

But the talent is real.

Banchero leads the way as the team’s best scorer. Franz Wagner and Moritz Wagner played big roles in helping Germany win the World Cup this summer. Fultz, Cole Anthony and Jalen Suggs keep the backcourt moving, while Wendell Carter Jr. was solid at center.

Signing veteran Joe Ingles was smart; he instantly becomes the voice of experience.ATLANTA HAWKS

Trae Young averaged 26.2 points and 10.2 assists last season, making him only the sixth NBA player to finish a year with such numbers. The others: Oscar Robertson, Tiny Archibald, Michael Adams, Russell Westbrook and James Harden.

Young with players like Dejounte Murray, De’Andre Hunter and World Cup silver medalist Bogdan Bogdanovic should mean that the Hawks contend for a playoff berth. Having Snyder as coach for a full season will be another plus, after he was hired late last year.

But the defense must improve: Atlanta was 6-23 when allowing more than 122 points last season.CHARLOTTE HORNETS

Getting point guard LaMelo Ball back — he played 36 games last season — means a ton to the Hornets, who haven’t made the playoffs since 2016.

And the Hornets are raving about the development of rookie Brandon Miller, the No. 2 overall pick who got stronger and added muscle mass over the summer.

It’s a mix of young with veterans like Gordon Hayward and Terry Rozier. Miles Bridges’ legal situation – he will miss the first 10 games while completing an NBA-issued suspension over a domestic violence charge — likely worsened when he was accused of violating a protection order.WASHINGTON WIZARDS

It’s a new day in Washington, with Beal among those gone — traded to Phoenix — and a new backcourt with Jordan Poole (acquired from Golden State) and Tyus Jones (from Memphis) set to be the Wizards’ starters.

Kyle Kuzma is coming off his best season (21.2 ppg) and veteran wing Danilo Gallinari is ready to play again after missing last season with a knee injury.

Changes were made after a fifth consecutive losing season, and the second straight in which Washington went 35-47. Expect some growing pains, with 12 of Washington’s first 19 games on the road.

Wembanyama, the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, sank 10 of 15 shots — 1 of 5 from 3-point range — and both of his free throws in his second preseason game. The 7-foot-4 center from France had 20 points and one block in 19 minutes in a 122-121 loss to Oklahoma City in the Spurs’ preseason opener on Monday.

Wembanyama added four rebounds, four assists and three blocks on Friday and also had four of San Antonio’s 13 turnovers.

Devin Vassell hit 6 of 7 from beyond the arc and finished with 21 points with three assists for the Spurs. Jeremy Sochan pitched in with 10 points, six rebounds and three assists.

Jamal Cain was 6 of 8 on 3-pointers and finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds to pace the Heat. Duncan Robinson had 14 points and five assists.

Jaime Jaquez Jr., the 18th overall selection this year, did not play after scoring 13 in Miami’s opener — a 113-109 win over the Charlotte Hornets.

WARRIORS 129, LAKERS 125

Rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis scored the go-ahead basket on a tip-in with 32 seconds left, then blocked a shot by his former Indiana Hoosiers teammate Jalen Hood-Schifino at the other end to rally visiting Golden State over Los Angeles.

Stephen Curry scored 18 points in 21 minutes for the Warriors, who opened the preseason with a 125-108 win at home over the Lakers. Jonathan Kuminga scored 26 points on 9 of 12 shooting with three 3-pointers. Brandin Podziemski, the 19th overall pick this year, finished with 10 points, 10 assists and six rebounds.

LeBron James had 12 points and five assists in 18 minutes for Los Angeles. Taurean Prince led with 17 points, sinking 4 of 5 3-pointers. Austin Reaves scored 16 and Anthony Davis pitched in 13 points, six rebounds and four assists in 22 minutes.

Podziemski hit a 3-pointer to cap an 11-1 run late in the third quarter, giving Golden State its first lead since midway through the first quarter, 99-98.

The students at Central Park Elementary in plantation started their Friday with a pep rally that included dancing with Heat mascot Burnie and the Hoop Troop.

The celebration was part of the How Low Can You Go challenge that is sponsored by the Miami Heat, which encourages schools to reduce the amount of energy and water they consume throughout the school year.

“We were able to lower our energy consumption last year from the 2022-2023 school year, and our kids did a great job,” said Lori Turner, principal at Central Park Elementary. “Our teachers worked really hard to promote the idea of conservation. We turned off computers, we turned off laptops. We also did our best to help keep our environment clean as well.”

The pep rally also celebrated Green Sports Day, which helps connect environmental stewardship with athletic events.

Sounds easy. It won’t be.

For the first time since 2002 — 1,605 games and three championships ago — the reigning Eastern Conference champion Heat are entering a season without Udonis Haslem on the roster. Last season was his 20th and final before retirement, and the Heat know there’s a serious leadership gap without the Miami native in the room anymore.

“An adjustment, for sure, probably more so for me than everybody else in the locker room,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Teams transition. The guys are used to it, that you have different players. UD’s presence was so unique that you can’t compare it to any other situation in the league. I’ve always known him to be in our locker rooms.”

It’s not like the Heat don’t have other leaders: Kevin Love and Kyle Lowry were starters on teams that won NBA championships, and they both have Olympic gold medals as well — as do Heat veterans Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler.

They just no longer have the player who was their biggest leader.

“It’s weird,” Josh Richardson said Tuesday after the team’s first camp practice at Florida Atlantic. “It’s very weird. Him not here, barking the whole practice, it’s very weird.”

Haslem is expected to be around the Heat eventually in some sort of official capacity. He hasn’t rejoined the club yet and wasn’t there for the first practice since his retirement.

Haslem was the NBA’s oldest active player at 43 when he retired. The three-time champion was the third player to spend a two-decade career with one franchise, joining Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki and the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant.

He also became the oldest player to appear in an NBA Finals game, doing so two days before his 43rd birthday when the Heat played the Nuggets in June.

“I’m pretty sure he’ll be in the background sending out text messages, probably be around a lot,” Butler said. “He loves the game too much. He loves this organization and the city too much to stay away. And we respect him. We love him and we want him to do that.”LOWRY STATUS

Lowry, entering his 18th NBA season and having spent most of those years as a starter, said Tuesday after practice No. 1 that he’s hoping to remain a starter.

“I’ll do whatever it takes for my team to win basketball games,” Lowry said, “but I expect to be the starting point guard.”

Spoelstra said he isn’t set yet on a starting five. The 37-year-old Lowry averaged 11.2 points and 5.1 assists last season.BUTLER UPDATE

After raising eyebrows with, well, a pierced eyebrow — along with a pierced nose, lips and a new hairstyle on Monday — Butler’s look was back to his typical self Tuesday, with braided hair for the workout.

He’s still in Miami.

After a summer where the Heat were hoping to land Damian Lillard — Portland chose to trade the seven-time All-Star to Milwaukee instead — the reigning Eastern Conference champions reported for training camp on Monday with a familiar refrain in mind. They believe they can contend for a title, and now the real work starts.

“You just want to come into camp having a team that you know is going to be one of those teams competing for the title, and we have one of those teams right now,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “I like our group. There’s a lot to like about this group. And I understand the fandom and the buzz and everything — everybody wants change after every single year. You don’t know if those changes will lead to anything on those other teams. But we like our group.”

The Heat have been to the Eastern Conference finals in three of the last four years, went to the NBA Finals in 2020 (losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the bubble) and last season (losing to Denver), and bring back much of the core from the team that found its best stride in the playoff run last spring.

And they have been widely criticized for not landing Lillard, even though it was Portland’s decision to send him to Milwaukee. Not everyone in the NBA, however, is ready to write the Heat off, even after the team lost playoff starters Gabe Vincent and Max Strus in free agency.

“Don’t overlook Miami,” New York coach Tom Thibodeau said Monday.

The Heat aren’t overlooking Herro either, even though this summer’s events may have had him thinking otherwise.

Herro is a past Sixth Man of the Year who has had plenty of clutch moments in his first four Heat seasons, and now is about to start cashing in on a deal that will pay him $120 million over the next four seasons. But he’s also been prominent in trade rumors twice – first when Miami was reported to be interested in acquiring Kevin Durant (who went to Phoenix) and now when Lillard made it known he wanted to be with the Heat.

It was reasonable to think that, if Miami and Portland were going to strike a deal, Herro would be one of the many assets that the Heat would have to send elsewhere.

“This one felt a little more real than any of the other trade rumors in in the past,” Herro said. “But it’s part of the business and at this point in my career I’m really just wanting to play wherever I’m wanted, whether that’s here or somewhere else, I don’t care. … I don’t think I’m not wanted here. A great player was on the market at the time and whatever happened happened.”

He’s not bitter about it, even trying to poke fun at the situation on social media in recent days by responding to a post saying he remains in Miami by adding “until next summer.”

Herro missed Miami’s playoff run last season, breaking his right hand in Game 1 of Round 1 against the Bucks. He didn’t play again, and the Heat went to the title round anyway.

“It doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks: He definitely could have helped and made a difference,” Spoelstra said.

Herro has averaged 20 points in each of the last two seasons, is averaging 17.7 points per game for his career, has seen his assist numbers rise every year and connected on 93% of his foul shots a year ago. There’s a lot there to like about his game.

Heat forward Jimmy Butler, who broke the Media Day internet with his new look Monday, said he liked how Herro dealt with the summer filled with noise.

“He handled it accordingly,” Butler said. “What else can you say? What else can you do? He put his head down and worked out like he always does, knowing that he can only control what he can control. So, he’s here. He’s going to make the most of that and he can come in, do his job, be a pro, go out there, score some baskets, win some games and knowing he’s on our team. I’m good with it.”

The Miami Heat forward arrived for the team’s first official day of work this season with piercings — eye, lip and nose — along with a new hairstyle and his fingernails painted black.

It’s become a trend of sorts for Butler, who went through the Media Day gamut last year with dreadlocks in a deviation from his usual look.

“I’m very emotional right now. This is my emo state and I like this. This is me,” Butler said. “This is how I’m feeling as of late.”

Coaches greeted Butler with smiles and laughs. Teammates, it seemed, were caught a bit off guard. Heat center Bam Adebayo — who hadn’t seen his teammate before meeting with reporters — thought someone had photoshopped something when a reporter showed him photos of Butler’s look.

“That is not real. … That is (expletive) hilarious,” Adebayo said.

Added Heat guard Tyler Herro: “He told me this was his Halloween today.”

Still unclear: If Butler will keep the look when Miami opens practice on Tuesday. The team will hold camp at Florida Atlantic University in nearby Boca Raton.WEMBY MANIA

Victor Wembanyama’s first Media Day in San Antonio was Monday, and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich says he has a simple plan to handle all the buzz that will surround the No. 1 draft pick this season.

Pop’s plan: Just roll with it.

“You all are going to do what you do. Fans are going to do what they do,” Popovich said. “But because I know the players and because he’s got such high character and he’s used to this — this isn’t the first time that he’s gotten attention — I think just handling it organically is better.”

That said, Popovich does have a specific plan when it comes to the team’s travel arrangements.

“If there are people hanging on the top of the bus, we’ve got to get them off,” Popovich said. “Short of that, we’ll be OK.”

Also, after a summer when Wembanyama’s height was oft-discussed — 7-foot-4? 7-foot-5? — the Spurs are still listing him at 7-foot-3.RUBIO UPDATE

Ricky Rubio remains away from the Cleveland Cavaliers as they open camp while the Spanish guard continues focusing on his mental health.

Rubio said he was stepping away from the game this summer, when he was scheduled to play for Spain in the Basketball World Cup. There is no timetable for his return.

“We remain fully supportive of Ricky and his efforts, which for now are best continued away from the team and have excused his absence from camp,” the Cavaliers said Monday in a news release. “We remain in regular communication and consultation with Ricky and will continue to assist him in any way possible.”

The team declined further comment.

Rubio asked in early August that his “privacy be respected so that I can face these moments and be able to give more information when the time comes.”

Rubio has played in the league for 12 seasons, appearing with Minnesota, Utah, Phoenix and Cleveland. He missed the majority of the past two seasons while recovering from a torn left ACL and returned to the Cavs primarily as a reserve for 33 games at the end of last season. He began playing pro ball as a 14-year-old in Spain, nearly two decades ago.KOLOKO OUT

Christian Koloko won’t be taking part in training camp with the Toronto Raptors. The team announced Monday that he’s still dealing with “ongoing respiratory issues” and will not participate in the workouts that start in Vancouver on Tuesday.

He averaged 3.1 points and 2.9 rebounds as a rookie last season.

The seven-time All-Star — a player so elite that he was selected to the NBA’s 75th anniversary team — goes from the Trail Blazers to the Bucks in a three-team deal that sends Jrue Holiday from the Bucks to Portland, Deandre Ayton from Phoenix to Portland and Jusuf Nurkic from the Blazers to the Suns, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because none of the involved teams had announced the agreement.

As with all trades, it cannot be finalized until NBA attorneys review the terms and approve the deal.

It became known on July 1 that Lillard asked the Trail Blazers for a trade, which he was long speculated to be considering given his desire to play for a contender and Portland not seeming to have much of a chance with its current roster.

He wanted to go to Miami and made that clear. Portland decided not to accommodate that request, and instead, it’s the Bucks who now have an incredibly strong 1-2 punch of Lillard and Antetokounmpo heading into the new season.

The trade continues the Bucks’ dramatic offseason makeover in response to their surprising first-round playoff loss to Miami.

They followed up that playoff loss by firing coach Mike Budenholzer and replacing him with Adrian Griffin, who spent the last five seasons as a Toronto Raptors assistant. Now they trade away the two-time All-Star Holiday to acquire Lillard, a seven-time All-NBA selection.

The acquisition of Lillard comes after Antetokounmpo, a two-time MVP, told The New York Times over the summer that he wanted to see how committed the Bucks are toward winning another championship before deciding whether to sign a long-term deal to stay in Milwaukee.

Antetokounmpo’s contract runs through the 2024-25 season, with a player option for 2025-26.

Bringing Lillard to Milwaukee certainly suggests the commitment is there. It also keeps the high-scoring guard away from Miami, one of the Bucks’ biggest Eastern Conference challengers.

When Lillard’s request was made public by the Blazers, general manager Joe Cronin said he would do “what’s best for the team” while grudgingly seeking to facilitate his wishes.

In the end, the deal with Bucks is what Cronin and the Blazers deemed best for all involved. It took a massive package to make the trade happen, especially because Lillard is owed a ransom over the next four years. He will make almost $46 million this coming season and could make as much as $216 million over the next four years if he exercises his option for the 2026-27 season.

It will be a large, and possibly very worthwhile, investment because acquiring Lillard figures to make the Bucks even more of a title contender. He averaged 32.2 points per game this past season, has averaged at least 24 points per game in each of the last eight seasons and has an offensive ignitability that few players in the NBA possess.

He became just the seventh player in NBA history to score more than 70 points in a game when he finished with 71 against the Houston Rockets on Feb. 26. The other names on that list are Wilt Chamberlain (who did it five times), Kobe Bryant, David Thompson, David Robinson, Elgin Baylor and Donovan Mitchell.

All six of the other players on that list were between 23 and 28 when they had their games of 71 points or more; Lillard was 32, a clear indicator that — even after 11 NBA seasons — he’s far from past his prime.

He has been great. The Blazers have not. And evidently, he didn’t see that changing anytime soon.

Lillard was beloved in Portland, but the speculation about his future with the team only intensified when the Blazers took point guard Scoot Henderson with the No. 3 overall pick in the June draft rather than package the pick for a proven commodity that could immediately help transform the team into a contender.

Portland won only four playoff series in Lillard’s 11 seasons, getting to the Western Conference Finals once. The team went 33-49 this past season, the second consecutive year of finishing well outside the playoff picture.

That’s not Lillard’s fault. His career average of 25.2 points per game ranks 11th among all players in NBA history who have appeared in at least 500 games. He’s had 17 games of at least 50 points in his career — two of them in the playoffs — and is a past rookie of the year, teammate of the year and winner of the NBA’s citizenship award.

He’s been an Olympic gold medalist, was the unanimous selection as MVP of the seeding games when the “bubble” season resumed at Walt Disney World during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and even won the 3-point contest at All-Star weekend in February.

And he has an absolute flair for drama. His series-winning shot to eliminate Oklahoma City from the 2019 NBA playoffs — a stepback 3-pointer over Paul George from nearly 40 feet as time expired — is one of the iconic postseason moments in not just Portland history but NBA history as well.

Seniors who love to dance want to do it for the Miami Heat.

Don’t call them old, call them dancers.

“I love to dance, I love basketball and this is just my kind of my thing,” said Sandra Marcus, a contestant.

The Miami Heat’s Golden Oldies auditions are being held where every single person is trying out for the dance team to perform during home games.

“To be young again, to be beautiful again, and to dance, we all love to dance,” said Amali Bauza, a contestant.

The first part of the audition is the freestyle portion, which are when the first cuts are made. Then comes the choreographed routines.

Those who pass that will make the team,

Everyone auditioning must be at least 60 years old to try out.

“I can’t wait to dance, I love to dance,” said Amy Tinozo Friedman, a contestant.

Now going on its 18th season, the Miami Heat Golden Oldies have become a staple of the NBA as the most popular senior citizen dance team.

“It keeps you active it keeps you on your toes, and it’s something you look forward to. It keeps you going,” said a contestant.

Everyone auditioning had their eyes set on the prize.

“To be the Miami Heat Golden Oldies, I’m so proud,” Bauza said. “I hope they pick me.”

For those who made the team last year, they still had to try out this year.

The plan changed. The paperwork he needed to play in the Philippines got delayed, so he played in Germany instead. And after a little time there, he got a chance to interview for a video-room job with the Miami Heat. The rest is history. He never got to Manila as a player.

But on Saturday, 30 years or so behind his original schedule, Spoelstra has a game awaiting in the Philippines. He’s an assistant coach for USA Basketball, which plays its World Cup opener in Manila against New Zealand on Saturday night. Spoelstra will wear the red, white and blue of the U.S. — in an arena where the blue, red and white of the Philippines flag will sway. And, after thousands of games he’s been part of in his life as a coach and player, this one will have a certain significance.

“I have a great deal of pride in my heritage and I’m close with my family over here,” said Spoelstra, the Heat coach who took his team to the NBA Finals this past season. “When I first started coming over, I just wanted to give back and do as much as I could, in terms of clinics and continue to grow the game and just be involved in the movement. That’s what I call it. Basketball really is like a religion in the Philippines.”

If it is a religion, then he may as well be considered one of its saints. He is an icon in the Philippines because of his heritage. Walk off the elevator at the hotel, someone wants a photo. Walk down the street, someone wants a photo. Go into a restaurant, someone wants a photo.

Having Team USA play anywhere is a big deal, but in Manila, the biggest star on the American roster sure seems to be a 52-year-old assistant coach.

“It’s a very cool thing that he’s doing this,” said fellow U.S. assistant coach Tyronn Lue, the coach of the Los Angeles Clippers. “He gets a chance to go home, see his family, see his fans. It reminds me a lot of when we went to China with Yao Ming when we were in Houston. That was crazy. It’s the same type of thing and he deserves it. It’s so cool to see it and be a part of it.”

A day after arriving in Manila, Spoelstra led a clinic for about 40 elite high school and college players, both men’s and women’s. The clinic had some local staff helping out. One of the coaches there on Wednesday actually was one of the kids getting taught by Spoelstra at another clinic a decade or so ago.

It’s proof that his mission — to grow the game there — is working.

“I never played in the PBA like I wanted, but I ended up getting to share the game in a different way,” Spoelstra said. “And that’s a beautiful thing as well. It didn’t need to be me playing. It worked with me going back and giving back and still getting to do this.”

Spoelstra has many stories from past trips that he’s made to the Philippines as the Heat coach.

The Larry O’Brien Trophy — he’s won two as a head coach — has made the trip with him in the past. Spoelstra has led dozens of clinics, many of them in less-than-ideal circumstances. No air conditioning, sometimes no gym, and they were often completely overbooked. One of his favorites he said was a day where about 1,000 people showed up for a clinic on two courts, with four basketballs and 10 staffers, some of whom might have been worried when the campers started rocking the bus when Spoelstra pulled up. They figured it out that day, just like they did another time where there were no basketballs. That entire clinic became about footwork, jump stops, head fakes and pivoting. Nobody missed a shot. Nobody took a shot. And Spoelstra said nobody complained.

“I’d tell the NBA on those trips that I wanted to do as many clinics per day as possible,” Spoelstra said. “I’d tell them not to worry about fatigue. Fatigue would not stop us.”

And when fatigue set in, there would be sustenance, Uncle Tony style.

Spoelstra and those he’d bring with him on those trips — mostly Heat staff — would always end up taking a long ride to Tony Celino’s house at some point for a party. Uncle Tony. In Spoelstra’s mind, Uncle Tony makes the best lumpia (a type of spring roll) in the world. And if you were going to hang out at Uncle Tony’s, you were required to do a shot of his other specialty, coconut moonshine. It’s even made it over to the U.S. It’s legendary within Spoelstra’s innermost circles. When Uncle Tony gets to Manila, it’s a safe bet some of his concoction will be along for the ride.

“It’s one thing to tell people about what it’s like to go there, see my family, the clinics, see all that the Philippines has to offer,” Spoelstra said. “They get it when they experience it. And it’s brought me great joy.”

Coming back to the Philippines is not, technically, a homecoming for Spoelstra. He’s not from here. He wasn’t born here. He’s never lived here. None of that seems to matter. For this World Cup in Manila, halfway around the world from where he lives, Spoelstra is right at home.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and the war there continues.

Butler, who led the Miami Heat to the NBA Finals last season before losing to the Denver Nuggets, is not new to tennis and is friends with 2022 French Open runner-up Coco Gauff.

He teamed with Tiafoe, a semifinalist at last year’s U.S. Open, in doubles against defending champion Alcaraz and Grammy winner Yatra.

Other just-for-fun exhibitions at Stars of the Open in Louis Armstrong Stadium included John McEnroe, Gabriela Sabatini, Jessica Pegula, Matteo Berrettini, Elena Svitolina, Gael Monfils, Chris Eubanks and Jennifer Brady.

The U.S. Open begins Monday.

“It’s going to take a long time for me to process that,” said Wade in a video call interview. “There’s not enough time. It’s the rest of my life.”

The basketball legend’s accomplishments include being a three-time NBA Champion, 2006 Finals MVP, a 13-time All-Star, and the NBA’s points, games played, assists and steals. All of Wade’s accomplishments paired with his 14-year span with the Miami Heat make him the most successful player in NBA history.

Patrick Riley, President of the Miami Heat, said he knows he made the right decision when he let Wade play for his team.

“Wade is like sacred ground,” said Riley during a phone interview. “I never even thought about ever being a Hall of Fame player until, yep there’s a player, or even as a coach, until it’s happening. And life for Dwyane’s place is today.”

Wade’s induction into the Hall of Fame puts him on the same wavelength as other Heat players and coaches, including Riley, Alonzo Mourning and Chris Bosh, but unlike the others, Wade would be the first player drafted by Miami to be inducted.

“I’ve thought about my Hall of Fame speech when I was 17 years old because of the work that I put in and the dreams that I fought hard to get. So it’s there, it’s in here,” Wade continued as he pointed to his chest. “At some point, it’s going to come pouring out of me like tears in no time.”

It’s going to be a party this weekend in Miami as some of the big names from the Miami Heat are fired up.

“This guy was one of the elite talents,” said Miami Heat Head Coach Erik Spoelstra in anticipation of the celebration this weekend. “It’s going to be one heck of a party if you know anything about Dwyane, it’s going to be 10x big.”

Spoelstra is expected to be in Massachusetts for Wade’s induction ceremony on Saturday.

Jones, a 2021 second-round draft choice out of Alabama, was a starter throughout last season after emerging as the club’s most decorated defensive player as a rookie. His four-year extension is reportedly worth about $56.3 million.

Zeller’s one-year deal, worth a reported $3.2 million, comes after the Pelicans let go of reserve centers Willy Hernangomez and Jaxson Hayes in free agency, creating the need for a reserve to spell starter Jonas Valanciunas.

Lidell was the Pelicans’ second-round draft choice out of Ohio State in 2022, but was lost to a right knee injury for his entire rookie season. He has returned in time to join the Pelicans’ Las Vegas NBA Summer League squad, which opens play on Friday night. Lidell was on a two-way contract before the Pelicans opted on Thursday to give him a three-year contract reportedly worth about $6.2 million.

The 6-foot-7 Jones’ average steals of 1.6 per game this past season tied for fourth in the NBA. He also averaged 9.8 points and 0.6 blocks.

The 6-11 Zeller is 10-year veteran who spent his first eight seasons in Charlotte before one-year stints each in Portland and Miami.

Last season, he averaged 6.5 points and 4.3 rebounds and started in two games for the Heat. He also appeared in 21 playoff games for as a reserve during Miami’s run to the finals, averaging 2.2 points and 2.3 rebounds.

Lidell, who is 6-6, hasn’t played meaningful basketball since his junior season at Ohio State in 2021-22, when he averaged 19.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.6 blocks per game and was named first-team All-Big Ten and Big Ten All-Defense.

Lillard asked the Trail Blazers for a trade, a move that will end the seven-time All-Star’s tenure with that team, two people familiar with the matter said Saturday. The team later confirmed that Lillard had made the request.

Lillard is generating interest from the Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets, among others, according to the people who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no details were announced publicly. One of the people told the AP that Lillard’s preference is Miami — the reigning Eastern Conference champion — though that hardly guarantees the Trail Blazers will work to facilitate that specific move.

“We have been clear that we want Dame here, but he notified us today he wants out and he’d prefer to play someplace else,” Blazers general manager Joe Cronin said in a statement distributed by the team. “What has not changed for us is that we’re committed to winning, and we are going to do what’s best for the team in pursuit of that goal.”

Lillard is coming off a season in which he averaged 32.2 points for the Trail Blazers. He is a seven-time All-NBA selection and was selected to the NBA’s 75th anniversary team — but he has never been close to a title in his 11 seasons in the league.

He has met with Portland multiple times in recent weeks, asking for the roster to be upgraded to the point where he can compete for a championship. But those efforts, evidently, have not gone to Lillard’s liking and led to him asking to be moved.

His decision was revealed on the second day of NBA free agency, after Portland made a huge splash on the first night by retaining Jerami Grant with a $160 million, five-year deal.

For as great as his resume is, Lillard hasn’t enjoyed much in the way of postseason success. The Blazers have won only four playoff series in his 11 seasons, making the Western Conference finals once during that span. The team went 33-49 this past season, the second consecutive year of finishing well outside the playoff picture.

But Lillard is, by any measure, a dynamic player. He has averaged at least 24 points per game in each of the last eight seasons, and his career average of 25.2 points ranks fourth among active players (with at least 375 games) behind Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid and LeBron James. If that list was expanded to all players with no game minimums, Luka Doncic, Zion Williamson and Trae Young would also be ahead of Lillard.

He had a 71-point game this past season against Houston, has 17 games of at least 50 points in his career — two of them in the playoffs — and is a past rookie of the year, teammate of the year and winner of the NBA’s citizenship award. He’s even an Olympic gold medalist, winning one alongside Miami’s Bam Adebayo at the Tokyo Games and raving about how much he enjoyed playing with the Heat center.

The only glaring omission on Lillard’s resume is a championship. And now he’ll seek a move to change that.

“I would say I want to be remembered for who I was, not as a player, but the principle that I stood on regardless of how successful I was, how major the failure was, the criticism, what people thought I should have did, what people think of me … no matter what was happening, I want to be remembered for who I was,” Lillard said in an interview with former teammate Evan Turner for the “Point Forward” podcast earlier this year. “I stood tall. I’ve stood tall in every situation and I want to be remembered for that.”

It will take some team — whether it’s Miami, Brooklyn or anyone else — a massive haul of probably both players and draft picks to persuade Portland to trade Lillard. He will make almost $46 million this coming season and could make as much as $216 million over the next four years if he exercises his option for the 2026-27 season.

While Lillard was beloved in Portland, there was speculation about his future with the team when the Blazers took point guard Scoot Henderson with the No. 3 overall pick in the recent draft rather than package the pick for a proven star.

At the time, Cronin said he intended to play both Lillard and Henderson.

“I would love to see Dame retire a Trail Blazer. I have zero desire to trade him. I really hopes this works out here,” Cronin said on draft night. “And I think you can tell how excited I am about Scoot Henderson. He has a chance to be a special player in this league.”

The Blazers signed Henderson to a rookie contract on Saturday. The 6-foot-2 teenager who has been compared to Russell Westbrook spent the past two seasons with the G League Ignite.

Last season with Ignite, Henderson averaged 17.6 points and a team-high 6.5 assists. He graduated early from high school in Marietta, Georgia, to become the youngest player ever in the G League.

He tore his left patellar tendon during the first round of the playoffs against Milwaukee in April. The 31-year-old guard underwent his third major surgery in the last four years — the other two were on his right knee area — and there is no timetable for his return.

Oladipo was a two-time All-Star with Indiana before getting hurt in January 2019. Indiana traded him to Houston in January 2021. The Rockets traded him to Miami two months later; he played four games in March 2021 with the Heat before getting hurt again.

Oladipo appeared in just eight regular-season games in the 2021-22 season while recovering from a second surgery to repair his right quadriceps tendon. He got into 15 playoff games for Miami in 2022, then agreed on a two-year deal to stay with the Heat last summer.

He played in 42 games this season with Miami, his most in any regular season since 2017-18.

The clip, posted to social media on Saturday, is the second video TMZ Sports has released showing the mixed martial arts star during Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the Denver Nuggets, June 9.

This time, TMZ reports, the video shows McGregor and his accuser minutes after the assault allegedly took place.

In a demand letter, the victim’s attorney, Ariel Mitchell, wrote, “Mr. McGregor, aided and abetted by the NBA and Miami Heat Kaseya security, had the victim physically forced via security into the men’s bathroom.”

But according to video obtained by TMZ Sports last week, it appears to show McGregor holding the victim’s hand and leading her into the bathroom.

Once inside, Mitchell said, McGregor forced the victim to perform oral sex on him and even ripped off her clothes as he continued the attack.

The attorney said her client eventually fought McGregor off and gave police the clothes she was wearing that night as evidence.

Mitchell also gave 7News screenshots of Instagram messages that, she said, are between the victim and one of the security guards, where the victim accuses McGregor of pulling her pants down and calls him “mad aggressive.”

At one point, the victim allegedly said in the texts, “I didn’t know he was trying to [expletive] me in the bathroom.”

The security guard allegedly responded, “How did u not know? Lol.”

McGregor has denied any wrongdoing, but his attorney sent 7News a statement, following the release of the latest video from TMZ Sports. It reads, “While the claimant’s story has changed yet again, our account of the evening has never changed. This video only reinforces our position. We look forward to the swift conclusion of the investigation.”

In a statement issued Thursday, the Miami Heat said they’re aware and conducting their own investigation.

City of Miami Police are also investigating.

As the mixed martial arts star, 34, faces allegations of sexual assault, TMZ Sports has obtained video that is soon expected to be part of a police investigation.

The footage, posted online on Friday, shows McGregor and the alleged victim going into the men’s bathroom at the Kaseya Center where the alleged attack took place, June 9.

“What I saw was him grab her arm and lead her somewhere,” said Ariel Mitchell, the victim’s attorney.

According to Mitchell, the incident happened during Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the Denver Nuggets.

In a demand letter written to McGregor, Mitchell wrote, “Mr. McGregor, aided and abetted by the NBA and Miami Heat Kaseya security, had the victim physically forced via security into the men’s bathroom.”

But according to the video obtained by TMZ Sports, it appears to show McGregor holding the victim’s hand and leading her into the bathroom.

Once inside, Mitchell said, McGregor aggressively kissed her client, forced her to perform oral sex on him, as he ripped off her clothes and continued the attack.

Mitchell said the victim eventually fought McGregor off and gave police the clothes she was wearing that night as evidence.

Mitchell also gave 7News screenshots of Instagram messages that, she said, are between the victim and one of McGregor’s security guards, where the victim accuses McGregor of pulling her pants down and calls him “mad aggressive.”

At one point, the victim allegedly said in the texts, “I didn’t know he was trying to [expletive] me in the bathroom.”

The security guard allegedly responded, “How did u not know? Lol.”

“Our credibility is through the roof, so I have no reason to question her,” said Mitchell, “and I hate that we live in a society that questions women when they’re in a situation, especially when we’re talking about known predators.”

McGregor has denied any wrongdoing.

His attorney sent 7News a statement. It reads, “After the video was released by TMZ, the claimant’s lawyer now has changed her story. Mr. McGregor welcomes the investigation, which he firmly believes will show the claims against him are false. After not responding to the demand for money made by claimant’s counsel, she turned to the media to apply pressure. This is no more than a shakedown.”

In a statement issued Thursday, the Miami Heat said they’re aware and conducting their own investigation.

City of Miami Police are also investigating.

The woman’s attorney, Ariel Mitchell, said her client has provided Miami police with the clothing she was wearing that night and that a report was filed. Miami police did not respond when asked Thursday evening whether they were investigating.

McGregor’s attorney said the fighter denied any wrongdoing. “Mr. McGregor will not be intimidated,” said the attorney, Barbara Llanes.

In letters sent to the NBA, the Heat and McGregor’s representatives, Mitchell detailed her client’s allegations and said the client would discuss “reasonable settlement offers” before June 12 or else proceed with litigation.

“We are aware of the allegations and are conducting a full investigation,” read a statement from the Heat. “Pending the outcome of the investigation, we will withhold further comment.”

The NBA had a similar statement, saying it was working with the Heat to gather information.

The alleged incident happened on the same night McGregor knocked out the Heat mascot in a midgame bit that went wrong.

Burnie — more specifically, the man who occupies Burnie’s costume — briefly sought medical attention Friday night after taking two punches from McGregor during a third-quarter stoppage of Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the Heat and the Denver Nuggets.

The employee, who was not identified, received pain medication and was recovering, the team said.

McGregor was there as a promotional gimmick for a pain-relief spray — and was booed by many in the Miami crowd even before the bit started. The flame mascot was wearing oversized boxing gloves and a robe akin to what a fighter would wear entering the ring for a bout. McGregor hit Burnie with a left hook, knocking him down, then punched the mascot again after he hit the floor.

McGregor then tried to “spray” the mascot with the pain-relief product, while several members of the Heat’s in-game promotional team dragged Burnie off the court.

McGregor hasn’t fought since injuring his left leg in a loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021. His last win came in January 2020.

Eastern Conference champion banners don’t merit a Heat party.

Only NBA championship banners get the blowout celebrations, and the Heat will have to wait at least one more year to get another of those. It was a surprising run — from nearly getting bounced in the play-in tournament to making the NBA Finals — but it ended with Miami falling in the title series for the third time in its last three appearances.

Denver topped Miami 4-1 in the finals, giving the Nuggets their first title and making the Heat wait yet again for their fourth.

“We didn’t get the final win, but sometimes that’s true in sport and also in life — that you don’t always get what you want,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “But there’s no regret from our side. Everybody, staff, players alike in the locker room put themselves out there and put themselves into the team, whatever was best for the team. And the tough pill to swallow is it just wasn’t good enough. We ran up against a team that was just better than us in this series.”

And with that, the goal is clear: Miami will be looking to make moves this summer. Big moves, probably.

As soon as Portland’s Damian Lillard mentioned on a recent podcast that he would consider Miami an acceptable trade destination — to be clear, there’s been no indication that the Trail Blazers actually will trade Lillard anywhere, and Lillard also said he expects to remain in Portland to start next season — the clamoring from Heat fans started coming in waves. The team that put together LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh 13 summers ago is always mentioned in potential moves for the biggest names that might be available every offseason. And Heat President Pat Riley starts every season with one goal: to win it all.

“I think we’ll be OK,” forward Jimmy Butler said. “That’s Coach Pat and Coach Spo’s job to put together another team, which I’m confident that they will do, and we’ll take it from there.”

It was a strange year. Miami’s longest winning streaks were four games. The Heat were the lowest-scoring team in the NBA during the regular season. They were actually outscored during the first 82 games. They lost the first play-in game, trailed late in the second one and were about three minutes from elimination, then won 13 playoff games — more than any No. 8 seed ever. They knocked out No. 1 overall seed Milwaukee in Round 1, eliminated longtime rival New York in Round 2 and nearly wasted a 3-0 series lead against Boston in the East finals before winning a Game 7 on the road.

In the finals, they just didn’t have enough — and tipped their caps to Denver.

“I think this is one of my favorite teams I’ve ever been a part of because we willed our way through ups and downs,” center Bam Adebayo said. “We willed our way through the things that people said we couldn’t do. So, for me, the future, I just take these lessons and I apply them to the next season. Whenever we go through adversity, I’m always going to look back and be like, ‘We’ve been through adversity before.’”

As always, changes can be expected and there are roster decisions to make.

Gabe Vincent — who became Miami’s starting point guard — is about to become a free agent. So is shooting guard Max Strus, a full-time postseason starter in each of Miami’s last two playoff runs. Both made $1.8 million this season; they can now reasonably say they’ve earned big raises even after enduring some struggles in the finals.

Midseason acquisitions Kevin Love and Cody Zeller are free agents as well and it’s likely that Miami will try to keep one or both. Victor Oladipo has a player option for about $9.5 million and is expected to opt in, especially because he’s going to need some time to recover from a torn patellar tendon.

“I think the biggest part about that was the fun we had together, this group, after we picked up Kevin Love and Cody Zeller,” Strus said. “It was just unique how we all came together and enjoyed this run together and just had fun. … But we came up short. It’s going to be a lesson that we’ve all learned, and we’ll be better for our careers going forward.”

The one player who surely is not coming back is Udonis Haslem.

Miami’s captain is retiring after 20 seasons. He’s the only player to have been part of all six of Miami’s appearances in the NBA Finals, and the Heat already have announced that his No. 40 will be retired – likely in a ceremony next season.

“I have no regrets,” Haslem said. “I’m completely fulfilled. … They gave me a final season that I’ll never, ever forget.”

He intends to remain with the organization in a still-to-be-determined role. His game-night attire will change. His message will not.

“Winning a championship will be the hardest thing you ever do,” Haslem said. “People only talk about the parade and holding up the trophy. They don’t talk about the journey, the sleepless nights, the frustration, the tears, the pain. They don’t talk about that.”

Jokic had 28 points and 16 rebounds for the Nuggets, who missed 20 of their first 22 3-point attempts and seven of their first 13 free throws but figured out how to close out the series on their home floor.

Butler scored eight straight points to help the Heat take an 87-86 lead with 2:45 left after trailing by seven. He made two more free throws with 1:58 remaining to help Miami regain a one-point lead. Then, Bruce Brown got an offensive rebound and tip-in to give the Nuggets the lead for good.

Trailing by three with 15 seconds left, Butler jacked up a 3, but missed it. Brown made two free throws to put the game out of reach and clinch the title for Denver.

Butler finished with 21 points.

This was an ugly, frenetic affair, but the aftermath was something the Nuggets and their fans could all agree was beautiful. Denver is the home of the Larry O’Brien Trophy for the first time in the franchise’s 47 years in the league.

“It was and ugly and we couldn’t make shots, but at the end we figured it out,” Jokic said. “I am just happy we won the game.”

The Heat were, as coach Erik Spoelstra promised, a gritty, tenacious bunch. But their shooting wasn’t great, either. Bam Adebayo had 20 for the Heat, but Miami shot 34% from the floor and 25% from 3. Until Butler went off, he was 2 for 13 for eight points.

Herro has not played since breaking his right hand in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against Milwaukee. He has recovered from surgery to repair the fractures and has been doing on-court work for several days in an effort to get back on the court.

He was listed as out for Game 5 when the initial Heat injury report for the game was released Sunday. The Heat upgraded him on Monday morning in Denver.

“You have to go through stages,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said last week when discussing Herro’s return. “First part of it was just shooting, then movement, then contact versus coaches and then the next level of contact in practice.”

Miami trails the finals 3-1. The Nuggets are seeking their first NBA title and need only one win to get it, with Game 5 — and Game 7, if necessary — both set to be played in Denver. If the Heat win on Monday, Game 6 would be in Miami on Thursday.

Herro also missed some time in last season’s playoffs with a groin injury. It sidelined him for three games of the East finals against Boston, before he returned for Game 7 and struggled in what became the final game of the season for the Heat.

McGregor punched the performer wearing the mascot costume twice in a pre-planned skit in the third quarter during Game 4 of the NBA Finals at the Kaseya Center in Miami. The skit was meant to promote a pain relief spray, which McGregor sprayed on Burnie after the blows.

The man playing Burnie was sent home from the hospital after receiving pain medication and is doing well, according to The Athletic report, which cited a league source. CNN has not verified the details of The Athletic report.

Burnie, who sported large gold boxing gloves and a boxing robe, was punched once by McGregor and fell to the ground. Once on the ground, McGregor landed another punch before the mascot was dragged off the court.

McGregor’s communications team had no comment when reached by CNN.

CNN has reached out to the Miami Heat and NBA for comment but did not immediately hear back.

Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra joked about the incident while speaking to reporters ahead of Monday’s Game 5 in Denver.

“It’s the Miami Heat toughness that we are talking about,” Spoelstra said. “Should’ve been allowed to take the first swing. We won’t reveal who that is but he’s tough. Take a punch and get back up. Yeah, he’s not going to miss any time.”

McGregor has not competed in a UFC event since breaking his left leg in a fight with Dustin Poirier in July 2021.

The Heat lost Friday’s game 108-95 to the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets are leading the best-of-seven series 3-1.

Bruce Brown scored 21 off the bench for the Nuggets, who took both games in Miami to grab complete command. They’ll have three chances to win one game for a title, two of those in Denver, the first of them in what’s sure to be a raucous atmosphere for Game 5 on Monday night.

Jamal Murray had 15 points and 12 assists — his fourth consecutive double-digit assist game — for Denver.

Jimmy Butler scored 25 points for Miami, which has now fallen into 3-1 holes in each of its last three finals appearances — this one joining 2014 and 2020. Bam Adebayo had 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Heat, while Kyle Lowry had 13 points.

The Heat walked off the floor in silence, fully aware of how much trouble they’re in now.

The Nuggets were overwhelming favorites to start the series, for obvious reasons. Denver was the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed; Miami was the Eastern Conference’s No. 8 seed. The Nuggets had won nine of the last 10 regular-season meetings between the teams, and their run of success over the Heat has continued through four games of the finals.

Denver led by 13 going into the fourth, and Miami came out for the final quarter with appropriate desperation. The Heat scored the first eight points, Jokic committed his fifth foul and had to go to the bench with 9:24 left — and it was down to 86-81 when Butler converted a three-point play with 8:42 remaining.

But the Nuggets – who fell apart in the fourth quarter of Game 2 for their lone loss of the series – didn’t fold, even with their two-time MVP still out. Murray made a 3-pointer to stop Miami’s 8-0 spurt, and Jeff Green made a huge corner 3 from near the Heat bench for a 94-85 edge with 6:21 left.

Jokic checked out with Denver up 10. He came back with the Nuggets up nine.

Miami didn’t take advantage of that chance, and now finds itself on the wrong end of history. Teams that take a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals have won 35 out of 36 previous times, and the Heat will have to buck that trend to keep Denver from winning its title.

The Nuggets even survived a scare. Jokic tweaked his right ankle when he landed on the back of Max Strus’ foot midway through the opening quarter. He remained in the game after it happened, briefly retreated to the Denver locker room before the start of the second quarter and played the rest of the way with no evident issues.

TIP-INS

Nuggets: Murray played with tape protecting the bottom of his left hand, thanks to a nasty floor burn he got in Game 3. … It was Denver’s 25th win on the road this season, tying a franchise record set last season. … Michael Porter Jr. scored 11 for the Nuggets.

Heat: It was retiring 20-year veteran Udonis Haslem’s 43rd birthday and rookie Nikola Jovic’s 20th birthday. Jovic was 58 days old when Haslem signed his first Heat contract. … If it was Miami’s home finale this season, then the Heat went 613-299 in its home arena during his career. … Miami started the playoffs 6-0 at home. The Heat are 0-4 on their home floor since.

SLOW START

Miami led 21-20 after one quarter. The 41 combined points were the fewest in the first quarter of the last 24 finals games; the first quarter of Game 4 of the Toronto-Golden State series in 2019 had 40 points.

CELEB WATCH

Kentucky coach John Calipari was in the crowd, as was Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker, two-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces, Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields and twins Haley and Hanna Cavinder — who helped the Miami Hurricanes make the Elite Eight in this year’s NCAA women’s tournament.

They were the team that almost got him out of Miami.

In the summer of 2010, when most of the eyes in the NBA free agent world were on Miami for three other reasons — LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade — the Nuggets made a serious run at signing Haslem. The offer: five years, $34 million. And he was seriously tempted.

But then Miami’s pieces began falling into place. Bosh said he wanted to play in Miami, which got Wade to stay in Miami, then got James to commit to Miami and the Heat “Big Three” era was born. And on the night they all signed their contracts in Miami, those three players were huddled with Heat executives figuring out how much money they would have to give back to retain or sign some other players — including Haslem, who eventually re-signed with the Heat for five years and $20 million.

“I hadn’t thought about that,” Haslem said. “I could have gone to Denver and things would have been a lot different. It would have changed a lot of things. Obviously, I’m happy I didn’t.”

So are the Heat. Haslem never left, spending all 20 of his NBA seasons with the Heat. He became the oldest player in NBA Finals history to appear in a game when he checked in for the final half-minute of Game 3 on Wednesday night. And on Friday, he’ll celebrate his 43rd birthday by suiting up for Game 4 – when the Heat will try to tie the series at two games apiece.

Friday could be his final home game with the Heat. One way or another, whether Denver wins the title or Miami rallies, his career is over in a few days. It is a delicate balance for Haslem — soaking in all the moments from the last games of his run as a player, while also trying to be the leader the Heat and coach Erik Spoelstra have needed him to be for much of his two decades with the franchise.

“I had that conversation with Spo: ‘How do I be me for these guys and also enjoy it?’” Haslem said. “Often times, chasing it is not enjoyable. It’s enjoyable if you win it. But chasing it is hell. So, I had to figure it out: ‘How do I be me, and still enjoy it?’ I struggled with that early on, and then I figured it out.”

Haslem is expected to remain with the Heat going forward, in a still-to-be-determined capacity with the front office.

3’S NOT REQUIRED

Denver made only five 3-pointers in Game 3. The Nuggets have won a league-best three times this season when making no more than five shots from beyond the arc.

The Nuggets’ five 3s and 18 attempts were both the fewest by any team in a playoff win this season. And it was a performance the likes of which wasn’t seen in an NBA Finals victory in 10 years.

Miami was 4 for 12 on 3s in its Game 4 win over San Antonio in the 2013 finals. Every team that had won a finals game since had taken, and made, more 3s than the Nuggets did in their win Wednesday night.

REBOUND DIFFERENTIAL

Denver’s plus-25 rebound differential in Game 3 on Wednesday night — 58-33 — was the biggest in an NBA Finals game in more than 50 years.

The last time such a one-sided rebounding total appeared in a finals game was 1972, when the Los Angeles Lakers had a 28-board edge — 67-39 — in Game 5 of their series against the New York Knicks.

Before Wednesday, Denver hadn’t had better than a 21-rebound edge in any game this season. Miami’s previous season-worst was getting outrebounded by 24 in a play-in tournament game loss to Atlanta.

QUOTABLE

Denver’s Jeff Green, who owns a home in Miami and had teammates over for dinner before Game 3, was asked if he would let the Nuggets use his house for a championship celebration if they win the title. “At my house? No, not there. If we’re celebrating that, no. My house would be destroyed,” Green said.

HERE AND THERE

— Miami guard Tyler Herro remains listed as out for Game 4. He hasn’t played since the first half of Game 1 of Round 1 because of his broken right hand, which has since healed but not enough to where he’s comfortable playing.

— Udonis Haslem isn’t the only Heat player celebrating a birthday on Friday. Rookie Nikola Jovic turns 20.

— Game 3 was Denver’s 100th game of the season. This is the first time that the Nuggets have reached triple figures for games played in one season; they played 98 games in 2008-09.

— A win in Game 4 would be Denver’s 25th on the road this season, tying a franchise record set last season.

At this point, there isn’t a lot of off-day, on-court work for the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat.

Game 4 of the NBA Finals is Friday night in Miami, and it’ll be the only time in the series that there’s just one day off between contests. The Nuggets — behind a historic effort from Jokic and Murray — reclaimed the lead in the series with a 109-94 win Wednesday night, and could take a commanding 3-1 edge with a win in Game 4.

“It’s a lot of fun. A lot of fun. We’re all having fun,” Murray said Thursday. “Trying to solve this puzzle together. We’ve all been dreaming about getting to this stage. We have vets in the league that haven’t made it this far in their 15, 16 years of playing. So, we don’t want to take this opportunity for granted, knowing that this is not an everyday thing. It takes a lot of work to be here.”

Murray and Jokic each had 30-point triple-doubles in the Game 3 win, the first time that’s ever happened in NBA history. Jokic had the first known game of at least 30 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists in finals history. As always, he greeted news of his latest statistical accomplishment with a resounding yawn, preferring instead to solely focus on what he called the chess game between the Heat and Nuggets.

“They are one move, we are another move,” Jokic said. “I think this is the time where the players show what they’ve got.”

There were 15 other instances of teammates having triple-doubles in the same game, but never of the 30-point variety — and for that to happen not just in the playoffs but the NBA Finals only adds to the historic level of the performance.

Of course, that doesn’t mean Nuggets coach Michael Malone was wasting any time thinking about that.

“As I watched the film, as we watched it as a staff and then with the team, there was nothing about the historical night that it was,” Malone said. “We’re addressing all the areas where we have to be better.”

Malone loves to quote stats, and it’s safe to assume he knows that a 2-1 lead in the finals guarantees nothing. Boston had such a lead over Golden State last year. Phoenix led Milwaukee 2-1 the year before that. Golden State was up 2-1 on Cleveland in 2016, the Cavaliers had that same lead on the Warriors in 2015, San Antonio had that lead over the Heat in 2013 and the Heat had that lead over Dallas in 2011.

And all of those 2-1 series leaders lost the finals. It’s happened that way six times in the last 10 instances, seven times in the last 14 instances going back to Miami’s rally past Dallas in 2006. A 2-1 series lead used to be automatic — from 1979 through 2005, there were 22 instances of a team going up 2-1. All 22 of those teams went on to win the title. But starting with the Heat in 2006, that 2-1 lead hasn’t meant a whole lot.

“Stay in the saddle, stay the course,” Heat forward Kevin Love said. “That’s the biggest thing we can do. We have a game plan that is proven to work. … If anybody is capable of it, we are. Continue to drill, continue to stay true to our concept, no slip-ups. If we do that, we feel we can give ourselves a chance.”

Murray and Jokic were tremendous, and Denver’s 58-33 rebounding edge in Game 3 was not solely a byproduct of effort or lack thereof. But there were also things Heat coach Erik Spoelstra believes are correctable for Friday.

“The more experience you have, the more perspective you have about how difficult this really is,” Spoelstra said. “These are extremely difficult challenges. You end up being even more grateful for the opportunities to compete at the highest level. That’s what we all want. This is the stage that you want to be able to compete and have everything decided between those four lines and find out how your team stacks up. But it is tough. … It’s the highest level of competition.”

The Heat season has gone this way almost from opening night, a never-ending back-and-forth between ups and downs, win a few, lose a few, all capped by a postseason run that took a No. 8 seed to the NBA Finals. Win on Friday, and the series is tied. That’s all Miami can ask for right now.

“We’re going to come out with a lot more energy,” Butler said. “We’re going to compete at a high level. We’re going to get one at home.”

The ribbon-cutting ceremony, held Thursday at CARE Elementary School in Miami’s Overtown neighborhood, was all part of an NBA Cares initiative that the teams participate in when their city hosts the finals.

They partnered with the Miami Rescue Mission and CARE Elementary, which is a free private school for underprivileged children in Overtown, to dedicate a refurbished kitchen and eating area at the school, named the Miami Heat Food Court

They have also created an emergency food relief fund that will provide ongoing support for students and their families.

“It’s always on our mind. With the Heat, we always try to give back in any way possible, so they do a good job of stressing all the things that are going wrong in the community and ways we could help,” said Miami Heat guard Max Strus, “so always want to have that in mind and just give back whenever we can.”

The players also packed up meals with students to take to the Miami Rescue Mission.

The Miami Heat are in the NBA Finals, the Florida Panthers are in the NHL’s Stanley Cup Final and the area is hosting championship-series games four nights in a row. During that unprecedented stretch, Messi announced he’s going to sign with Inter Miami of Major League Soccer, and for good measure the Marlins are surprisingly in second place two months into the baseball season with Luis Arraez hitting over .400.

All this after the F1 Miami Grand Prix and NHL All-Star weekend were staged in South Florida, the sudden center of the sports universe. It also had two teams in college basketball’s Final Four, a women’s team in the Elite Eight and the Division II national champions in men’s basketball.

“I’m so excited for the city of Miami, to be able to have a player of that caliber here,” said Heat star Jimmy Butler, who has often said soccer — he calls it futbol — is his favorite sport. “I’m excited for the city of Miami in so many different ways. Obviously, us being in the finals and having an opportunity to do something special. Now that he is here, I think all the futbol-slash-soccer fans from all over the world are going to come here and get an opportunity to watch him compete. I’m glad he is here.”

Some of it is coincidental, but certainly not all of it. Florida having no state income tax makes the contracts signed by Messi, Jimmy Butler and Matthew Tkachuk worth more than in many other places, and it plays a role in elite athletes wanting to call the state home.

“Every now and then all the stars are aligned,” said Ed Schauder, a sports and entertainment lawyer who now lives in Florida. “It’s just a perfect storm. What’s happening is Florida’s becoming the go-to destination. Of course, it starts with LeBron James when he announced that he was coming to Miami (in 2010). And the beautiful weather and the whole vibe, so it’s just a snowball effect.”

Schauder, a New Yorker who moved to Florida and works at Nason Yeager Business Law Firm, knows from decades doing deals with the likes of Derek Jeter and Carmelo Anthony how Florida has become so attractive.

“As more and more people are migrating to Florida, the same principle goes with athletes,” he said. “Athletes are going to want to live in a state that’s beautiful, weather is great, there’s a great vibe, there’s great nightlife. And there’s no income tax. And when there’s no income tax, it’s going to attract anybody.”

Also attractive? Winning.

The Heat have won three championships and the Marlins and NFL’s Dolphins two apiece. The University of Miami and Florida Atlantic each came two wins away from a men’s basketball national title this spring. Miami’s women’s team went to the Elite Eight, falling to eventual national champion LSU, and Nova Southeastern won the Division II national title in men’s basketball.

South Florida is the current epicenter of sports madness. No market before has hosted final round NBA and NHL games on four consecutive nights.

“It’s cool to be a part of,” Panthers forward Ryan Lomberg said. “Thankfully for us, (the Heat play) on the off nights, so for us they’re pretty easy to tune into. Any time you can support your fellow South Florida sports teams, it’s good.”

His coach, Paul Maurice, said to his wife a sentence he never had when calling home from Las Vegas: “The Heat game just ended.” Michelle Maurice was watching, too.

The hockey lifer, now a quarter-century in with his fourth NHL organization, hopes the concurrent team runs create more hockey fans in what’s still a newer market for the sport.

“It’s a great introduction for us — we kind of get to move together on this,” Maurice said. “There’s lots of sports going on, and when you get on one of these runs, the energy level just comes up. Well, in our market now, it’s up on two sports and it doesn’t end.”

Even when these best-of-seven series are over, Messi is coming. Fresh off leading Argentina to a World Cup title, the soccer superstar left Saudi money on the table to play in Miami — reportedly, for a lot of money.

“I appreciate the guys who went through a lot of struggles to even get us to this point where we can make decisions on where we want to be and it’s about us being happy,” Heat guard Kyle Lowry said. “To be able to turn down one place and go to where you want to be, that’s the ultimate goal.”

When Messi arrives, the Marlins look to remain in the NL East race — and hope Arraez remains on pace to join the .400 club. They were excited about the Messi signing.

“Felicidades, Messi!” Marlins star Jazz Chisholm shouted Wednesday in a video released by the team. “Dale!”

The message, translated: Congratulations, Messi, and let’s go!

He won’t play in South Florida until next month. So for now, the focus is on the Heat and Panthers, each of whom trail their respective series and have opportunities to claw back at home in front of fans charged up by the success.

“For all South Florida just being able to watch us one night, watch the Heat the other night, it’s very cool,” Panthers MVP finalist Matthew Tkachuk said. “Hopefully, can make for a fun last few weeks here. It would be nice if we could reward them all.”

Until now.

Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray made history Wednesday night — and have the Denver Nuggets two wins away from making some real history as well.

Jokic and Murray became the first teammates in NBA Finals history to both record triple-doubles, and the Nuggets reclaimed the lead in the series by beating the Miami Heat 109-94 in Game 3.

“By far, their greatest performance as a duo in their seven years together,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said, after his team moved two wins away from Denver’s first title.

Jokic finished with 32 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists — the first such game in NBA Finals history, or at least the first since assists were tracked. Murray had 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, getting the rebound he needed with 9 seconds remaining.

The Nuggets outrebounded the Heat 58-33, and took a 2-1 lead. Game 4 is Friday in Miami.

“I’m just glad that we won the game,” Jokic said. “It was a big one for us because they won in our arena. We just didn’t want to go down 2-1.”

Jimmy Butler scored 28 points for Miami, and Bam Adebayo finished with 22 points and 17 rebounds. Caleb Martin added 10 points for Miami.

Miami has been the comeback kings of these playoffs — seven rallies in games after trailing by at least 12 points. The Heat were down by 14 going into the fourth, and Malone reminded his club of Miami’s penchant for comebacks.

“First two games, they won the fourth quarter,” Malone said. “Tonight, we win the fourth quarter, we win the game.”

His team listened.

The lead eventually reached 21, the outcome never seriously in doubt, and Jokic looking very much like he’s back in cruise control. The Heat got within nine on a 3-pointer by Duncan Robinson with 1:22 left, but there was no epic finish for Miami. Murray and Jokic had the Nuggets too far ahead to get caught.

“You have to expect there to be elite talent in the finals,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “And both those guys are elite-level talent.”

Officially, Jokic is now the seventh player to have two triple-doubles in the same finals. Magic Johnson and LeBron James each did it in three different finals. Draymond Green, Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird and Butler all had one title series with two triple-doubles.

It was his 10th triple-double of these playoffs, extending his single-season record, and he was unbothered by whatever Miami threw his way. Jokic finished 12 for 21 from the floor, 7 for 8 from the line, playing 44 minutes.

“We were more locked in, more focused,” Jokic said.

Christian Braun was tremendous off the bench for the Nuggets, scoring 15 points on 7-for-8 shooting in 19 minutes. Aaron Gordon added 11 for Denver.

Miami never led in the second half. A dunk by Adebayo put the Heat up 44-42 with 3:18 left in the half, before a 3-pointer by Murray represented the seventh and final lead change of the night. It was 53-48 at halftime, before Denver pushed the lead to double digits for the first time early in the third and wound up leading by as many as 19 later in that period.

“We took care of business,” Braun said.

TIP-INS

Nuggets: Denver used Reggie Jackson in the first quarter, going nine deep in the opening 12 minutes for the first time since Game 2 of the West finals. … Denver hadn’t lost two consecutive games to Miami since March 14 and Nov. 30, 2016. Jokic played in both of those games, Murray in the second one early in his rookie season.

Heat: It was the first finals game in Miami since 2014. The Heat didn’t have any “home” games in the 2020 finals, which were held in the NBA’s restart bubble near Orlando. … Wednesday was the 11th anniversary of LeBron James’ 45-point, 15-rebound, five-assist game at Boston in Game 6 of the East finals — staving off elimination. The Heat won Game 7 and went on to beat Oklahoma City for James’ first title.

HASLEM RECORD

Miami’s Udonis Haslem — in his 20th and final season — set a record. He became the oldest player to appear in the NBA Finals, breaking the mark of 42 years, 58 days set by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on June 13, 1989.

Haslem turns 43 on Friday. He played the final 29.8 seconds.

RARE COMPANY

Jokic had 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists in the first quarter. The only other players in the last 25 years to have that in any quarter of a finals game — Stephen Curry (12-7-5) for Golden State in the third quarter against Cleveland on June 4, 2017 and Shaquille O’Neal (12-7-3) for the Los Angeles Lakers in the second quarter against Philadelphia on June 8, 2001.

CELEB WATCH

Former Heat player and NBA champion Mike Miller — now an agent — was at the game, along with one of his clients, Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero of the Orlando Magic. Banchero tweeted “game ain’t even started yet i’m in here star struck.”

DJ Khaled was in attendance, along with soccer greats Neymar and Paul Pogba (on the day Lionel Messi committed to play for Inter Miami), Shakira, Magic Johnson, J. Cole (who played a role in getting Caleb Martin to the Heat) and Dwyane Wade — who starred for Miami’s title teams in 2006, 2012 and 2013.

Game 3 of the NBA Finals, set to take place Wednesday night, is back in Heat territory.

The team’s fans are hoping this is going to be their second win against the Denver Nuggets, but that do they think the final score will be?

“We are going to win by 10,” said fan Caio Teixeira. “I think the energy of the fans are gonna like push them to continue that streak, and I think they are going to play well.

The series is currently tied 1-1.

“I am gonna guess, 118 to 107,” said Naomi Rose, who is visiting from the Cayman Islands.

Fans of the Nuggets made their own predictions.

“I am going to take Denver by three,” said Nuggets fan Erika Lopez.

Visitors who came from Denver also have Miami Heat fans in their city.

“We are just happy to be in Miami and bring you to help each other out,” said Lopez. “We see Miami fans in Denver, too, so it’s great to bring the economy to each other’s city.”

Hours before tip-off, a pregame fans rally pumped up the crowd with the STARRY Miami Heat bandwagon.

Fans wanted to be ready for the big game in Heat gear by purchasing some T-shirts and hats at Kaseya Center.

Others wanted to buy Jimmy Butler’s popular Big Face Coffee.

I just love Jimmy. I am not really a coffee fan, but I wanted to try it out and actually bought something, and I am taking it home for my wife,” said Teixeira.

The coffee is so popular that they ran out of drinks to serve on Wednesday but had other merchandise.

When asked about the high prices for the popular coffee drinks, an employee with Big Face Coffee replied, “It’s not [cheap] at all, but rarely, really great things are cheap, right?”

Fans who spoke with 7News predict a Heat win in six games.