Adebayo, Antetokounmpo power Heat past Cavaliers in NBA Cup victory

Ira Winderman, South Florida Sun Sentinel on Nov 13, 2026

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MIAMI — The search for a signature victory is over. And the race for the NBA Cup is on.

Winning on their home court for only the second time this season, the Heat reached .500 for the first time this season with a 133-121 victory Friday night over the Cleveland Cavaliers at Kaseya Center.

After a series of middling wins against lesser competition, the Heat turned to their power play against one of the more talented perimeter teams in the Eastern Conference.

In the process, Erik Spoelstra’s 6-6 team improved to 2-0 in NBA Cup play, upping the odds of advancing to the knockout round of the in-season tournament for a second consecutive year.

While point guard Davion Mitchell stepped up with 22 points and 17 assists, and while rookie guard Ryan Conwell added 20 points and five rebounds, this was about the forceful play of Heat big men Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo.

Adebayo closed with 37 points and 14 rebounds, Antetokounmpo with 37 and nine.

On this night, it was more than enough to overcome the Cavaliers perimeter duo of Donovan Mitchell and James Harden, with Michell scoring 25 and Harden 20, even with the Heat playing in the absences of starters Klay Thompson and Pelle Larsson.

The Heat get right back at it with another quality challenge, with the Detroit Pistons visiting on Saturday night.

Five Degrees of Heat from Friday night’s NBA Cup game:

— 1. Game flow: The Heat led 29-27 after the opening period, with the Cavaliers then taking a 57-55 lead into half.

The Heat went up seven in the third, with their lead down to 92-91 entering the fourth.

A 10-2 run to open the final period put the Heat up 102-93, with that lead then growing to 110-97 on a Davion Mitchell 3-pointer with 6:46 to play.

That lead was down to 116-108 with 4:05 to play after the Cavaliers’ 16th 3-pointer and then down to 120-114 on a Donovan Mitchell basket with 2:07 left.

Then came a crucial moment, when Andrew Wiggins was called for a three-shot foul on Harden with the Heat up 112-114 with 1:42 left, with Spoelstra challenging — and successful.

The Heat held on from there.

— 2. Giannis’ night: Antetokounmpo came up just shy of tying Shaquille O’Neal’s franchise record of ninth consecutive games of at least 20 points and 10 rebounds. O’Neal set his record in January 2005. No other player in the Heat’s 39 seasons has had such a streak longer than five consecutive games.

It was, however, the ninth consecutive game that Antetokounmpo and Adebayo each grabbed eight rebounds, extending their franchise record. The previous record was seven consecutive such games by Chris Bosh and Hassan Whiteside in November 2015.

— 3. Lineup reset: With Thompson out with the ankle soreness that surfaced in the wake of his late chase-down block Tuesday night in Utah, and with Larsson sidelined by illness, Spoelstra went deep into his rotation for replacements.

That had Tim Hardaway Jr., who over the past week had been shuffled out of the mix, starting in place of Thompson, and Myron Gardner opening in place of Larsson.

The approach had Wiggins in reserve for a third consecutive game, having been replaced as a starter last Sunday by Larsson.

Wiggins was third off the Heat bench, after Bobby Portis Jr. and Ryan Conwell.

It remained a struggle for Hardaway, who closed 1 of 6 for four points in his 20 minutes. Gardner was scoreless in his 19 minutes, on 0-for-3 shooting.

— 4. The point: As has been the case since the start of the season, the Heat remain a one-man show when it comes to play at point guard.

In this one, Mitchell was up to nine assists at halftime, with only Hardaway (two) with more than one to that stage.

It was Mitchell’s seventh double-double of the season, after recording five all of last season.

The Heat tried to buy minutes with Dru Smith at point guard, with it his first action in four games, but he largely was ineffective.

That had Mitchell leading the Heat in minutes played for a fifth consecutive game.

— 5. NBA Cup: The Heat close out their four-game NBA Cup group-stage schedule with road games Nov.. 25 against the Philadelphia 76ers and Nov. 27 against the New York Knicks.

Victories in both would assure a berth in the quarterfinal knockout round, with the game in Philadelphia likely to be decisive.