MIAMI - Giannis Antetokounmpo made his Miami Heat debut in a 129-105 preseason victory over the Toronto Raptors, with the Heat’s starting five building a 20-12 lead in the opening six minutes and the offense producing 76 first-half points on 11-of-23 shooting from three.
Head coach Erik Spoelstra started Antetokounmpo alongside Davion Mitchell, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and Bam Adebayo. The unit clicked immediately, with Antetokounmpo finishing the half with nine points, seven assists and a perfect 3-of-3 shooting line. The Heat shot 21-of-24 from the free-throw line in the first half and recorded 19 assists against 22 field-goal makes, holding Toronto to 55 points.
“Putting the league’s most dominant driver in a system built around creating optimal driving situations made logical sense,” the Heat’s analysis noted after the game. The first quarter produced 41 points, the second 35, as Antetokounmpo repeatedly drew defenders and kicked to open shooters - including a transition sequence where he drew a wall of defenders inside the arc and found a wide-open Adebayo for a trailing three.
The bench unit of Pelle Larsson, Nikola Jovic, Tim Hardaway Jr., Simone Fontecchio and Bobby Portis immediately went on a 9-0 run after entering. Hardaway Jr. finished with 14 points on 3-of-3 shooting from three, while Larsson went 7-of-7 from the free-throw line in just 11 minutes, with the ball in his hands frequently as a secondary playmaker.
Spoelstra pulled most of his rotation players after the first half, giving second-round draft pick Ryan Conwell and undrafted guard Tre Donaldson extended third-quarter run. The Heat managed just 19 points in the third quarter as the pace slowed, though Toronto - without Kawhi Leonard and several bench players - could not close the gap. “This was about as good a start as you could have possibly expected out of this offense, this roster and Antetokounmpo,” the team’s postgame report stated.
Defensively, the Heat deployed heavy switching with Antetokounmpo and Adebayo anchoring the frontcourt, a coverage scheme Adebayo emphasized during training camp. Miami’s regular-season opener is scheduled for later this month.