MIAMI — The court was different, with this the Heat’s first NBA Cup of the season.

The vibe was different, with the Heat for the first time this season coming off a victory.

And the outlook now is decidedly different than four days earlier, with the Heat winning for the second time in a row after their 0-4 start to the Giannis Antetokounmpo era.

Against a decidedly short-handed opponent, the Heat secured their first home victory of the season with a 145-125 decision over the Indiana Pacers at Kaseya Center that was both an inside and outside job.

The inside story was 31 points and 17 rebounds from Antetokounmpo and 27 points and nine rebounds from Bam Adebayo. Antetokounmpo also had 10 assists, for his second triple-double with the Heat.

The outside story was 25 points from Klay Thompson, who turned the game in the third period on a night he shot 9 of 14, including 7-of-12 accuracy on 3-pointers.

The Heat also got 18 points from Pelle Larsson, who again sparked the bench unit, as well as 15 points and 11 assists from Davion Mitchell.

At 2-4, it’s next off for five-game western swing that opens Monday night against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Five Degrees of Heat from Friday night’s game:

— 1. Game flow: The Heat trailed 42-36 after an opening period that saw them commit seven turnovers in the quarter that translated to 16 Pacers points.

The Heat then put together a 16-0 second period run to take a 68-61 lead into halftime.

With Thompson then converting five 3-pointers in the third period, the Heat pushed their lead to 23 in the quarter, before taking a 103-88 lead into the fourth.

The Heat then pushed the lead up to 25 early in the fourth, all but ending it.

— 2. Giannis’ night: Antetokounmpo already had a double-double by halftime, grabbing his 10th rebound with 2:02 to play in the second period, closing the half with those 10 rebounds and 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting.

Relentlessly following his own misses, he was up to 22 points and 14 rebounds through three quarters.

As for the concerns about playing side-by-side with Adebayo, the two flourished in this one when both playing together and apart.

— 3. Thompson time: Early on, it appeared the Pacers would be the latest opponent to beat the Heat over the top.

At halftime, the Heat were being outscored 33-15 on 3-pointers.

And then Thompson began to sizzle.

After a 2-of-5 first half from beyond the arc, he shot 5 of 7 on 3-pointers in the third, with the Heat erasing all of that early 3-point deficit.

As a matter of perspective, Thompson previously had not converted more than four 3-pointers in a game this season, entering 12 of 37 from beyond the arc.

— 4. Talent drain: The Pacers not only were without coach Rick Carlisle, who missed the game in the wake of his father’s death, but also without most of their primary rotation.

Out for Indiana were Obi Toppin (back), Tyrese Haliburton (hamstring), Ben Sheppard (knee), Johnny Furphy (knee), T.J. McConnell (hamstring) and Ivica Zubac (ankle).

That was with the Heat’s entire roster available, with Simone Fontecchio back after missing Wednesday night’s game in Atlanta due to illness.

Former Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce guided the Pacers in Carlisle’s absence.

“I mean I think everybody goes through this first and foremost,” Pierce said of his team’s absences. “Other teams will face it at some point during the year. How you handle adversity is part of the growth in this league.”

— 5. NBA Cup: The game opened the Heat’s four-game pool-play schedule of the NBA Cup, the in-season tournament where the results also count in the regular-season standings, with the exception of the Dec. 11 championship game.

The Heat’s other games in NBA Cup pool play are Nov. 13 at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Nov. 25 at the Philadelphia 76ers and Nov. 27 at the New York Knicks.

The winner of each pool plus one wild-card team in each conference advance to the knockout quarterfinal round that opens Dec. 4.

Quarterfinal and semifinal knockout games are to be played at the home site of the higher seed, with the championship game then at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse on the Indianapolis campus of Butler University, moving this season from the previous semifinal and final site in Las Vegas.

Factoring into the seeding process process will be margin of victory in Cup games, which made more than the victory count in this one.

Teams that do not advance to the knockout round will have two regular-season non-Cup games added to their schedule over the period of Dec. 6-Dec 10.

©2026 South Florida Sun Sentinel. Visit at sun-sentinel.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.