Klay Thompson finally found his touch, Giannis Antetokounmpo kept battering the paint, and Bam Adebayo helped set the tone as the Miami Heat rolled past a depleted Indiana Pacers group 145-125 in their first NBA Cup game of the season.
The win gave Miami its second straight and added to a promising start to its five-game road trip to open November. The Heat didn’t exactly come out humming, though.
When the second unit checked in, the offense bogged down quickly. Dru Smith turned it over twice in a row, and Bobby Portis, usually a dependable backup forward, missed all of his field-goal attempts in his five minutes during that stretch.
The starting group is still searching for its best rhythm.
Indiana’s zone defense gave Miami problems at times, especially when Davion Mitchell or Giannis were off the floor. But once Bam and Giannis started asserting themselves, the game turned fast.
Adebayo was active early and finished the half with 15 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. He started carving up the Pacers from the middle of the floor, playing with force and helping spark the turnaround before Giannis took over the offense in the second quarter. Adebayo closed with 27 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.
Then came Giannis, who was the game’s most overwhelming presence. He punished Indiana at the rim on both ends and put together a first half that left the Pacers with no real answer.
By intermission, he had 17 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and a block while shooting a ridiculous 87.5% from the field. He stayed unstoppable in the post and in transition, finishing with another triple-double: 31 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists.
The biggest shooting story belonged to Thompson, whose season-long struggles from deep were nowhere to be found. He broke out with five 3-pointers in the third quarter and ended the night with 25 points and 3 assists.
His shooting line - 64.3/58.3 - came with 7 made threes on 12 attempts. For a team already getting interior damage from Giannis and Bam, that kind of perimeter burst made Miami look nearly impossible to defend.
Davion Mitchell continued to show why he has become such an important piece for the Heat. He set the pace for everything they did and posted his fourth double-double in the first six games of the season. Mitchell finished with 15 points, 11 assists and 6 rebounds while committing just 3 turnovers.
Pelle Larsson also made a strong case to be part of the closing group whenever he’s healthy. He gave Miami another connector and secondary ball handler, and he has built an especially strong feel with Giannis and the rest of the late-game unit. Larsson finished perfect from the floor with 18 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists, and his only miss came at the free-throw line, where he went 7 of 8.
In Other News...
Davion Mitchell Is Forcing A Heat Debate Nobody Expected
Davion Mitchell has gone from offseason add-on to one of the more important pieces of Miamis early 2025 season, and that alone has changed the conversation around the Heats backcourt. Acquired in a trade after a limited run with the Toronto Raptors, Mitchell has earned the starting point guard job by playing with more confidence and giving Miami a steadier presence than many expected when the move was made.
Even with the team still trying to find its footing, Mitchells expanded role has become one of the few clear bright spots. His rise has also created an unavoidable front-office question for later, since he is headed toward free agency after the season and has already outperformed the modest expectations attached to him when he arrived in Miami. [Read more 🡒]
Giannis Just Sent Heat Fans A Clear Message About Bam
Bam Adebayo has been at the center of Miamis recent turn, and even Giannis Antetokounmpo took notice after the Heats latest wins. Antetokounmpo singled out Adebayo for the kind of defensive work that rarely shows up in a box score, pointing to the difficult assignments he handled against players such as Jalen Johnson and Pascal Siakam as Miami started to steady itself after an uneven opening stretch.
Adebayo also backed it up on the floor in the win over Indiana, finishing with 27 points, three steals, nine rebounds and three assists while Antetokounmpo posted a triple-double on the other side. The Heat have now strung together consecutive victories by tightening up on defense and finding more rhythm offensively in the middle quarters, and the bigger question is whether this is the start of something more lasting for a team that dropped its first four games. [Read more 🡒]
Bulls Hit Another Low After Celtics Loss As Frustration Boils Over
The first night of the 2026 NBA Cup had its share of fireworks around the league, from Stephen Curry powering the Warriors back from a big early hole against the Lakers to Luka Doni putting up 37 in a losing effort and Kevin Durant delivering a highlight dunk in the Rockets' loss to the Mavericks. But from a Miami perspective, the most relevant subplot was the Bulls taking another step backward in a loss to the Celtics, a result that only deepened the sense that Chicago is still searching for answers.
For the Heat, the Bulls' slide matters because it keeps a familiar Eastern Conference rival stuck in a frustrating stretch while other teams around the bracket try to find traction early in the tournament. The Celtics handled business, the Bulls did not, and the gap in composure was hard to miss on a night when several teams found ways to respond under the bright lights. How Chicago bounces back from this one will be worth watching, especially with the frustration around the team already building. [Read more 🡒]