The Miami Heat crushed the Chicago Bulls in the third of four Emirates Cup group stage games Friday night, earning a 143-107 victory.
Friday’s win marked the fourth 140-point game of the season. They’ve never had more than two in a single season leading up to 2025-26.
Miami’s win puts them at 2-1 in Emirates Cup group stage play, and 10-6 on the season. Point differential matters in the Emirates Cup, and their plus-46 point differential in those games will be a huge benefit heading into next week’s finale against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Less than one week before Thanksgiving, everyone feasted for the Heat.
Kel’el Ware finished with a game-high 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting, adding 14 rebounds, a pair of steals and one block in 28 minutes. Bam Adebayo tallied 18 points, seven rebounds and five dimes in 29 minutes while Norman Powell had 19 points on 6-of-14 shooting across 25 minutes.
Davion Mitchell added 16 points and six dimes; Keshad Johnson had arguably his most impactful game as a pro (22nd career game), tallying 14 points with 12 rebounds; Dru Smith had 12 points while Jaime Jaquez Jr. posted 10-7-7 on 5-of-11 shooting.
Everyone feasted.
Miami shot 47.0 percent from the floor and 36.8 percent from 3-point range (14-38). Chicago, led by Josh Giddey’s near triple-double (19 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists), shot just 41.1 percent and 26.9 percent from distance.
This was a massive win for the Heat without Tyler Herro, Nikola Jovic and Andrew Wiggins. They will take the floor again Sunday against the Philadelphia 76ers Sunday at 1 p.m. EST.
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Is there trouble in Paradise? Say it ain’t so.
Tension Brewing? Butler, Kerr at Odds on Warriors Defensive Issues
The Golden State Warriors dropped to .500 on Friday night after a crushing 127–123 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers — and the postgame comments revealed two competing narratives inside the locker room.
Star forward Jimmy Butler delivered a blunt and harsh assessment of the Warriors’ defense, saying the team “isn’t guarding anybody.” Head coach Steve Kerr disagreed, insisting Golden State’s issues are more about offense than effort on the defensive end.
The Warriors have now lost three straight and continue to search for answers as they plummet down the Western Conference standings.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nba/tension-brewing-butler-kerr-at-odds-on-warriors-defensive-issues/ar-AA1QXhfk?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=6922427213134f9d9ce7498a5ca49625&ei=30
Some of us foresaw this happening
Yup. Glad its somebody else’s problem. Life is good.
P.S. That’s why Miami doesn’t need to go after “players with issues.”
Ja mein capitan!
Happy Zion-Ball-Trae to you too.
Ware was awesome last night. The Bulls must have felt like they were in the play-in again lol
Next up, Philly, the Jeckyl and Hyde of the league. With a healthy, acclimated Embiid, they are a 60 win team, playing OKC for the title. Without him, they are a still good 46-36 team, tough to beat. Maxey is now a low A+ player, a number one option with maybe the fastest first step of all. And George now appears to be healthy, even if he is not as dominant as he used to be. They have plenty of good supportive players too, any one of which are capable of going off any night or being cold too. But, enough will be playing well to make life difficult. This is a sterner test than the Bulls, and it will be a feather in our cap if we get past them.
Heat won 10 out of 16. Never been blown out, all loses were relatively close. We shouldnt be afraid of anybody. After all, we played mostly good teams.
i just want to praise the great eric reid on his fantastic broadcasts night after night.the real big 3 for me are riles wade reid,3 most iconic heaters
I agree, he is one of the greats.
Another best game of the season. 7-8 minutes in second qt. was a masterpiece.
Despite an average shooting night from Simone and Powell, that was a blown out.
I m really glad for Johnson. That was by far the best game he played in the career. He actually helped the team in several ways.
But its clear, , that he is not polished player. You can see when shooting, and he has no soft touch around the rim. He will need to fix that, to stay in the league.
In many ways reminds me on role players from 10 years ago, which could do one thing well. They have a place in the league back then. I m not sure that’s enough in todays NBA, where everybody can score.
I cant wait the next game.
when i look at keshad i think of prime kenyon martin,exact same body of a bulldog.with ripped muscles.the days of spos non athletic midget lineups have finally come to an end.ty niko for little booboo but son your a talented kid just not this part of the world.go back to serbia with mickeys $$$ and be a top 5 player over there.tyler your a talented offensive player but only 2 wayers allowed on this version of the heat.son u cant guard nobody so please pat send him somewhere get us a 2 wayer..the team spobot used last night is the team going forward.great useof personnel 9 2 wayers and a fonzi(happy days are here again)/everytime gsw lose its almost as good as a heat w.steph gl with jimmy just a matter of time til he complains like yours truly.
Some of what you say is true, but… you could put it a little less harshly. And two, concentrate at least as much on the positive as the negative. And three, it’s not true yet. I do believe Niko will keep getting chances, even if we are essentially forcing a square peg into a round hole, basically because he got paid. We did that with Duncan too, who had similar limitations but was, in my opinion, the far superior player to Niko. Not only was Dunc’s three ball release and accuracy top tier, but there was another huge difference, the difference in getting downhill. Dunc really had a nice drive, and a smooth finish. Niko has nice finishing touch, but his handles are almost comical. Nico is the better defender, Dunc’s biggest liability, but not by much. BTW, Dunc is doing pretty well for Detroit.
He As for Ty, the Heat are still counting on him, and when he comes back his impact will be felt all thru the line up. Changes in the rotation are likely, at least for awhile. I am hoping he will be used on a results basis and not force Pelle to the ninth or tenth man in the rotation if the results don’t indicate that the team is playing well.
Sorry for this long post and I know it’s too premature to expect so much from Keshod, but if, and it’s a questionable if, Keshod grew into his role as Wiggy’s backup, this team suddenly looks more complete. Add a backup big and we can go pretty deep in the playoffs. If Keshod did emerge, and yes, what Vagi says is true, he is raw and unpolished, but if he did, it could change everything for the Heat as they would have all the depth they need, other than a twelth man backup big, an easy add.
I know that I have been spelling Keshad wrong, for a long time now. Maybe it didn’t matter till last night.
In the meantime, maybe Keshad can be the PF needed to rotate with Bam and Ware. He’s more of a PF power player than a SF finesse player. I see Jaquez as the power SF back-up behind Wiggins since Niko isn’t performing up to par.
Larsson is doing a great job as back-up SG and Dru as back-up PG. The issue will be what to do with Smith once Herro returns. I can see a trade or two coming before the deadline.
Kenyon Martin was 6’9. Keshad is 6’6. If anything, he’s closer to P.J. Tucker, without the eventually learned 3pt shot, than Martin.
PJ 6’5″. He’s closer to Jae Crowder @ 6’6″ but more athletic than either of them.
But not as athletic as Kenyon. My point was someone who can rebound better than their height might suggest.
Here is a surprising tidbit. The Heat is 10-6. Almost impossible to believe that they were not 4 games over 500 at any point last season!!
with our new kenyon martin plus 30 mins ware 30 mins bam all star norm mip jjj not jovic like some know it all predicted this could be a 50 win team.and easily challenge cleve ny.okc houston getting close not quite yet.need one big 7 ft dude to lay some wood on cheap shot artist in denver steven adams type would be ideal.maybe a josef nurkic valachunas or maybe goldins the guy.pleas e play him eric btw hope manilas ok he hasnt posted in a while
Amazing, and not with a particularly easy schedule either.
Where’s heat at? Probably sitting in a bar somewhere celebrating the Heat victory.
Glad our boy Keshad finally had his chance and took full advantage of it. Hopefully, this is the first of many good days to come for him. Another one of the several good guys on this team.
Its so refreshing to see a team without a bunch of players with oversized egos who are truly having fun playing an unselfish style of basketball. As the season goes on, I can see the guys developing a very close bond/camaraderie, which should make it much easier and much more fun for them to play together as a team.
im celebrating at my house.im to old to go to bars these days.man im loving this team from last night i posted i havent enjoyed a heat game like last nights since the wade teams.the bigger more athletic team when was last time u could say that.chi 1 off rebound in first half.take that in your height pipe sun and smoke it
Why you picking on me heat? I never liked small/slow down basketball. I bet quitter is seeing all the fun in Mudville and is probably regretting screwing up a good thing. P.S. F***um .
i didnt recognize that heat team last night bigger faster than our opponent hasnt happened to much with spo small ball.this is the best defensive team since wades teams.this is the tallest team since shaq teams.height wise ware is the tallest heater?shaq was little shorter i believe but when i think of heaters shaq is really a laker.is dav quickest pg ever hes a blur.is pelle the best basketball player ever from the baltic (love his game).has anybody ever taken a jump from prior year than jjj.a collection of good players can we take down some ss teams
This is definitely the most exciting Heat team I have seen since I became a Heat fan following Goran Dragic’s trade to Miami from Phoenix in 2015. We won’t know just how good the team can be until Herro is re-integrated into the offense.
If, for whatever reason, Herro’s presence detracts from rather than improving the team, Riley has until the February 5, 2026 trade deadline to correct the issue. If a legitimate ss (not requiring Miami to give away the farm) is not available in trade,
I would definitely not want to see Miami trade for a player with a chronic injury history, an inflated ego or personal baggage issues, such as: Williamson, Young, Morant, Ball, etc.
What a great game that was, we straight obliterated, and roasted them bulls. They wasn’t ready for the smoke or for Mr. Johnson, who had his best game in a heat uniform. Keshad plays bigger than his size as evidence from the big double double from him. I look forward to him growing and expanding his game, he might be the backup big we’re looking for. Also Norman Powell is so tough… gets hurt and comeback and drop 19 on there head. I love Davion driving in the paint with his speed, his man couldn’t keep or contain him, and made critical shots. Dru and Larsson continue on flashing and playing like vets. The WAREWOLF was very dominant and was a beast on the boards and in the paint. He also a top 10 rebounder already in his 2nd year. Sky is the limit for these young bucks.
we were big last night.have u ever stood next to ware .i bet u wouldnt come up to his chest .kids gotta be pushing 7 1 with arms that stretch out forever. theres a big werewolf roaming the pat riley cts.ty god father for a great great pick.ty for pelle god father.ty for norm god father.ty for fonzi and getting off uncan godfather.ty for jjj godfather.ty for dav and dru your holy one..u are once againone of the greatest gms in the history of nba so on behalf of my good buddy 30 man we want to apologize for ever criticizing u.u tried with jimmy who betrayed u god father and steph will pay for his sins.
That’s more like it on the positive side. As one who can often be harsh myself, we have to play up the good side to offset it, as these are all great players, in the most competitive sport in the world. And, it’s not ever as easy to make trades as we sometimes act like it is. Definitely Riles, while not infallible, still deserves the benefit of the doubt. He has earned that and then some.
And, I do believe the good people in the City by the Bay will eventually regret acquiring a certain player.
if u had to watch ty and dunc guard for 5 years youd be a little salty yourself.if u had to watch a team that was always smaller and less athletic for five years youd be(man jimmy was good for a bunch years huh 30)f him btw.gimme a team like last night (lots ware bam keshad)no complaints from hfl warranted
there isnt one gm in any sport that hasnt fd up just draft a wade a brady a mahomes covers up for mistakes made
Amen to that
Yes I actually stood next to ware, I was close to his chest. Glad to see you apologizing to the Godfather when he still got juice left in the tank.
Nice post, what a great night it was, so many contributors.
Yes a totalitarian effort, I love our playstyle,it gives a chance to compete, And more. Plus we got actual talent, all we had to be was Patient, a stark difference from last season.
Great game. Tonight was truly a team win. Everybody contributed something. These guys are really getting good at running and sharing the ball. It’s easy to forget how bad last year’s team was (pre and post quitter). This team is fun to watch. Watching last year’s team play was about as much fun as watching paint dry.
Maybe Keshad is the PF needed in the rotation with Bam and Ware. 14 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 2 blocks. Although he’s undersized, he’s very athletic and physical. He’s built like a mini-Bam. I think he can hold his own against most NBA PFs. If he can just let the game come to him (like his former Arizona teammate Pella is learning to do) he can be a valuable reserve. He’s another one who is on an expiring contract. He’s worth a 3 year minimum contract like Dru’s, which should give him time to develop his game.
Heat had 8 players in double figures and Simone had 9 points. The defense looked awesome. Fontecchio was cold tonight but he played pretty good defense. He’s a much better defender than Uncan.
Philadelphia next. They have a young running team so it should be a fun game to watch. Heat are in 5th place a game behind the 2nd place Raptors and 3.5 games behind the 1st place Pistons. The Eastern Conference sure has changed since last season.
P.S. 9th place (7-9) Trailblazers (with 5 rotation players out) came from behind on the road to beat 8th place (9-9) Golden State 127-123.
Saw that, haha
thats one old ass team by the bay wait till father time starts kicking in feb march
Thats what they get for resting players.
edwards edgecombe grimes pg overrated back and maxeys prob top 5 player should be a good one on an nfl sunday hfl will be watching his heat and of course nfl with my 2 tvs side by side
Man, what a win… DOMINATION. Feels good to watch a game like this. So many contributions from everyone. Great team win. Back to back up next… Let’s see what we are made of.
‘Keshad Johnson had arguably his most impactful game as a pro (21st career game), tallying 14 points with 132 rebounds’
That is the best typo of the year!!!
Typo? He’s the most unstoppable man on the face of the earth!
THIS is the guy to fix our rebounding woes… 😛
Lol!