Giannis Antetokounmpo scores 18 in Kaseya Center debut as Heat beat Pelicans 128-118, move to 2-0 in preseason

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 18 points in his first official game at Kaseya Center, and the Miami Heat rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the New Orleans Pelicans 128-118 in a preseason game on Thursday night, Oct. 8, moving to 2-0 in exhibition play.

Antetokounmpo, the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player whom Miami acquired from the Milwaukee Bucks this summer, made 8 of 13 shots, nearly 62 percent, in just under 18 minutes. He added four rebounds and four assists. The win followed a 129-105 victory over the Toronto Raptors in Quebec City on Oct. 3 and a fan scrimmage at Kaseya Center on Oct. 6, giving South Florida three looks at the franchise's biggest offseason acquisition in a week.

The Heat open the regular season on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at home against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and they have three exhibitions left to sort out rotations around their new star.

How the Heat beat the Pelicans

Miami's starters pushed the pace early, and the Heat scored 73 points in the first half. The game tightened after the break. New Orleans took control in the third quarter and led 96-93 entering the fourth.

The Heat answered by outscoring the Pelicans 35-22 over the final 12 minutes. Miami finished with 36 assists against 11 turnovers and made 38 percent of its 40 three-point attempts. New Orleans shot 44 percent from the field and 44 percent from three-point range but committed more than 20 turnovers, according to game reports.

Andrew Wiggins scored 13 points for Miami, and Tim Hardaway Jr. added 11. Guard Davion Mitchell had nine points and seven assists, and center Bam Adebayo had nine points, four rebounds and two assists. Jordan Poole led New Orleans with 14 points.

Coach Erik Spoelstra said afterward that Antetokounmpo was more aggressive than in the preseason opener.

"He was more assertive tonight, putting the ball on the floor and getting to the basket," Spoelstra said, according to ClutchPoints.

Three appearances in one week

Antetokounmpo's Heat debut came Saturday, Oct. 3, in an NBA Canada game at Videotron Centre in Quebec City, the first NBA game played in that city. He played only the first half, about 14 minutes, and finished with nine points on 3-of-3 shooting, four rebounds and a team-high seven assists in the 129-105 win. All seven of his assists came on made three-pointers, according to game coverage.

Miami led that game by 21 at halftime after scoring 76 points on 53.7 percent shooting in the first two quarters. Hardaway led the Heat with 14 points on 4-of-4 shooting, Pelle Larsson scored 13, Wiggins had 12, and Adebayo added 10 points and six rebounds. RJ Barrett and Tyreke Key each scored 15 for Toronto.

On Tuesday, Oct. 6, Antetokounmpo took the Kaseya Center floor for the first time in a Heat uniform at the team's annual Red, White and Pink scrimmage. He played only the first half and totaled 14 points, three rebounds, five assists and a block. Tickets for the event cost $10, with proceeds benefiting cancer care and research through Baptist Health, according to local reports. The crowd cheered him from his first point.

Thursday's game against New Orleans was his first official appearance at the downtown Miami arena.

The trade that reshaped the roster

The Bucks sent Antetokounmpo and forward Bobby Portis to Miami in exchange for Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakučionis, the No. 13 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft and additional first-round picks, according to ESPN. Because Miami was hard-capped under the league's apron rules, the deal could not be finalized until after the offseason moratorium, and the Heat formally introduced Antetokounmpo and Portis at Kaseya Center on July 16.

The deal sent three young rotation players out of South Florida and cleared the way for a frontcourt built around Antetokounmpo and Adebayo. Spoelstra has described the challenge of pairing Antetokounmpo with veteran shooter Klay Thompson as a deliberate problem for opposing defenses.

"Giannis has a reputation where you have to have multiple guys in front of him; Klay has a reputation where you don't ever take a body off him," Spoelstra said, according to ClutchPoints.

Before the Pelicans game, Spoelstra said the preseason has felt similar to other years even with so many new faces, and that the staff is blending familiar players with newcomers. "We're just, you know, in the middle of our process right now," he said.

Managing minutes and the point guard question

The Heat have been careful with Antetokounmpo's workload. He played only the first half in Quebec City and in the scrimmage, and he logged just under 18 minutes against New Orleans, his heaviest workload so far.

The other open question is at point guard. Spoelstra said before Thursday's game that the team has enough players who can handle the ball and initiate offense to make it work, and that Adebayo will see time as an offensive hub in some games. Mitchell's seven assists on Thursday and Antetokounmpo's playmaking in Quebec City offered early evidence for that approach.

The ball movement has been a theme through two games. Miami's 36 assists against New Orleans came after a crisp opener in which the Heat made 14 of 40 three-pointers and held Toronto to 39 percent shooting from the field and 29 percent from beyond the arc.

Remaining preseason schedule

Miami has three exhibitions left before the regular season, including an in-state trip to Orlando:

Published start times for the Oct. 10 game have differed between the two teams' schedules, so fans should check the Heat's listing before heading to the arena.

What's next

The Heat host the Timberwolves on Saturday, Oct. 10, in a preview of the regular-season opener. Miami and Minnesota meet again on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at Kaseya Center with a 7:30 p.m. Eastern tipoff on ESPN, the first time since the 2019-20 season that the Heat have opened against a Western Conference opponent. That game will be Antetokounmpo's first regular-season appearance for Miami, against a Timberwolves team led by Anthony Edwards.

Before then, the Heat play Brooklyn at home on Oct. 14 and close the exhibition schedule at Orlando on Oct. 16, a chance for Central Florida fans to see Antetokounmpo in Heat colors before the games count.