MIAMI — As he barreled through the paint in transition in the first quarter, paying no heed to Day’Ron Sharpe standing between himself and the rim, Giannis Antetokounmpo made clear with that emphatic driving layup he is ready.

As he tumbled hard to the court in the second period while fouled by Moe Wagner on a failed dunk attempt, Antetokounmpo also made clear the risk of these no-reward exhibitions.

In that regard, Antetokounmpo emerging from a solid night’s work unscathed was what mattered most as the Heat defeated the Brooklyn Nets, 144-128, Wednesday night at Kaseya Center in their preseason home finale.

He’s ready — as evidenced by another second-quarter sequence, when he blocked a Noah Clowney dunk attempt with two hands on one end and then scored in transition with a spin and finger roll against Sharpe — with the Heat to open their 39th regular season next Wednesday night against the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves.

In the end, on a night the 10-time All-Star also threw a no-look alley-oop pass for a dunk by fill-in center Nick Richards, Antetokounmpo closed with 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting, 15 rebounds, nine assists and three blocked shots in 24 minutes.

“Probably like everybody else that’s watching this and you can witness that level of greatness, and they were in bursts during particularly that first half, we’re just very grateful to have them on our side in a Miami Heat uniform,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra sad. “It looks great and we’ll just continue to build our game.”

Antetokounmpo said he felt no reason to hold back because it was preseason.

“Obviously, the more I play with my teammates and with the team, I’m getting more comfortable,” he said. “This is my third game and I’m just going to play hard. My teammates, the coaches, they want me to be aggressive, try to make plays, and that’s something I’m going to continue to do.”

Now the question is whether Bam Adebayo will be ready for the Heat when the regular season opens, with the Heat center out Wednesday night due to groin tightness.

The Heat also got 19 points from Andrew Wiggins in 22 minutes and 12 points from Klay Thompson in 23.

Five Degrees of Heat from Wednesday’s exhibition:

— 1. No Bam: Adebayo had played 28:50 in his two preseason appearances, sitting out Saturday night’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, as did most of the Heat’s primary rotation players.

“It’s day-to-day,” Spoelstra said of the groin issue, “so I’m not overly concerned about it.”

The Heat also were without Pelle Larsson (illness) and Dru Smith (calf).

Keshad Johnson (hamstring) was available for the first time since his strain sustained during training camp, checking in midway through the fourth quarter and later throwing down a trademark windmill dunk. He went 7:33, with eight points and three rebounds.

— 2. And a scare: Twenty-six seconds into the third period, Heat starting point guard Davion Mitchell was forced to the locker room with a laceration above his right eye, after a foul from the Nets’ Keon Ellis.

Because he was awarded free throws, Mitchell had to shoot them to remain in the game. So after a Heat timeout, Mitchell made the two free throws, committed an intentional foul to stop the game, then was replaced by Ryan Conwell.

After receiving six stitches, Mitchell returned later in the third period, closing with 13 points, four assists and four rebounds in 24 minutes.

“He was going off,” Spoelstra said, “he was like, ‘This is just going to be a handful of stitches, I want to play. I want to get my minutes like everybody else was able to do’ and we allowed him to do that. He still wanted to play in the fourth quarter.

“He loves the game. He loves competing. He wants to get out there and compete in the games, not just the practices. So I get it.”

Mitchell said there never was thought of calling it a night.

“I just love the game,” Mitchell said. “And I just wanted to play. I just wanted to be out there. You kind of don’t take these moments for granted. And I know if I can play, I’m gonna go out there and play.

“So it wasn’t really a hard decision for me. After they told me I got to shoot the free throws to stay in the game, I just ran out there and shot them.”

— 3. For starters: With Adebayo out, the Heat opened with primary starters Antetokounmpo, Mitchell, Wiggins and Thompson, with Richards stepping in for Adebayo.

First off the Heat bench then were Nikola Jovic and Bobby Portis, as Spoelstra swapped out his starting power rotation midway through the opening period. Tim Hardaway Jr. followed next. With Larsson out, it also opened early minutes for Conwell. Simone Fontecchio also saw action in the first half.

The Heat’s starters then played into the second half for the first time this preseason.

Hardaway added 14 points, Conwell 13, Portis 12, with Jovic contributing eight assists, five rebounds and five points.

— 4: Richards time: Richards, whose contract does not become guaranteed until opening night, was called for two fouls in the opening 64 seconds.

He had five points and three rebounds in his opening six-minute stint, closing with 11 points and five rebounds in 16 minutes.

“He’s been giving us very good minutes in practice and in the games doing what he does,” Spoelstra said. “He’s a very good rebounder. He’s a big big. His pick-and-roll coverage is something a little bit different than the other guys, and I think that helps our defense having somebody that can stay close to the basket.

“I just like his approach. He’s in great shape. He looks different physically than he did last year, and it shows he’s making more plays, more efforts.”

— 5. Up next: Up next for the Heat is Friday night’s preseason finale against the Orlando Magic at Kia Center.

Then, Saturday, the Heat will have to cut to no more than 15 players under standard contract and three under two-way contract. The Heat currently are carrying the NBA offseason maximum of 21 players.

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