Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s 124-98 win over the Brooklyn Nets (15-46) on Tuesday night at Kaseya Center to improve to 2-0 during its three-game homestand. Next up for the Heat (33-29) is another matchup against the Nets in Miami on Thursday:
The Heat took care of business against the struggling Nets, taking a step forward in its push to avoid the NBA’s play-in tournament this season.
The Heat dominated the rebuilding Nets, pulling ahead by as many as 16 points in the first half before entering halftime ahead by 15.
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Miami’s lead grew to as large as 27 points in the second half.
The Nets, which have now lost nine straight games, trailed by double digits for the entire second half.
“It’s the second half of the season,” Heat center and captain Bam Adebayo said. “We need these wins. We can’t have any more slip-ups. We’ve had enough in the first half of the season.”
The Heat was powered by its defense, limiting the Nets to just 38.4 percent shooting from the field and 6-of-32 (18.8 percent) shooting from three-point range. Miami also scored 20 points off 19 Brooklyn turnovers.
Adebayo led the Heat with a game-high 23 points to go with nine rebounds, four assists, six steals and one block in 35 minutes. He also posted a team-best plus/minus of plus 22 in Tuesday’s victory.
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Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 20 points, five rebounds, four assists and two blocks in 27 minutes off the Heat’s bench.
Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) drives passed Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Saraf (77) and forward Ziaire Williams (1) during the first half of a game on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, at the Kaseya Center in downtown Miami, Fla.
(Alie Skowronski/askowronski@miamiherald.com)
The Nets’ top scorer was inefficient, as Michael Porter Jr. finished with just nine points on 3-of-17 shooting from the field and 0-of-9 shooting from behind the arc.
With the Orlando Magic also defeating the Washington Wizards on Tuesday, the eighth-place Heat remains percentage points behind the seventh-place Magic (32-28) in the Eastern Conference standings.
But the Heat gained ground on the Philadelphia 76ers, which lost to the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday. The eighth-place Heat is now just one-half game behind the sixth-place 76ers (33-28) in the East standings.
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The NBA’s play-in tournament features the seventh-through-10th-place teams competing for the final two playoff seeds in each conference. The Heat needs to finish among the East’s top six teams to clinch a playoff spot without needing to take part in the play-in tournament.
“I know we have a lot of competitors in our locker room, and I’m banking on that bringing out a better version of ourselves,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of the Heat’s goal of avoiding the play-in tourney. “We have everything we need. We’ve got a high-powered offense. We’ve got a very good defense. It can be as good as anybody in the league defensively. But we need to put it together, particularly in the moments of truth.”
Adebayo was aggressive early on his way to a milestone night.
Not only did Adebayo score eight of the Heat’s first 13 points on Tuesday, but he finished the first quarter with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field. It tied for his third-highest scoring first quarter and also tied for the second-most shots he has taken in an opening quarter this season.
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Adebayo finished Tuesday’s win with 23 points on 24 field-goal attempts. It’s tied for the second-most shots that Adebayo has taken in a game this season.
In the process, Adebayo overtook Udonis Haslem as the Heat’s all-time defensive rebounding leader with his fifth defensive rebound on Tuesday.
“It’s a testament to his consistency, and we love to see it,” Spoelstra said when told Adebayo is now the Heat’s all-time leader in defensive rebounds. “That’s what records are there for, to be broken, especially when it’s quality people that are breaking records. And Bam is a quality human being.”
Adebayo is still 235 rebounds away from passing Haslem to become the Heat’s all-time leading rebounder. But Adebayo will soon have that record, too.
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“I’m on the way, man. He knows it,” Adebayo said of Haslem. “That gap is getting closer and closer. But like I said, being part of this organization, the guys ahead of me, records are meant to be broken. But they want you to earn them. Obviously, I’m earning it every game, and at some point it’s going to happen.”
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) shoots over Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton (33) during the first half of a game on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, at the Kaseya Center in downtown Miami, Fla.
(Alie Skowronski/askowronski@miamiherald.com)
The Heat again played centers Adebayo and Ke’l’el Ware together, and the results were again encouraging.
For the second straight game, the Heat used the double-big look of Adebayo and Ware for extended minutes.
After the Heat outscored the Houston Rockets by 21 points in the 16 minutes that Adebayo and Ware played together on Saturday, Adebayo and Ware again produced positive results on Tuesday.
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The Heat outscored the Nets by eight points in the 15 minutes that Adebayo and Ware played together.
Prior to this two-game stretch, Adebayo and Ware logged just three minutes together over the previous four games.
Ware closed Tuesday’s win with a double-double stat line of 11 points, 13 rebounds and a career-high five steals in 29 minutes.
Since Feb. 8, the Heat has outscored opponents by 97 points in the 73 minutes that Adebayo and Ware have played together.
This is noteworthy, considering the Heat had been outscored by 7.5 points per 100 possessions in the 266 minutes that the 6-foot-9 Adebayo and 7-foot Ware played together this season prior to Feb. 8.
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Adebayo and Ware again opened Tuesday’s game in separate units.
With starting guard Norman Powell missing his second straight game because of a strained right groin, the Heat went with the starting lineup of Davion Mitchell, Tyler Herro, Pelle Larsson, Andrew Wiggins and Adebayo for the second consecutive game.
The Heat then used a bench rotation of Ware, Jaquez, Simone Fontecchio and Kasparas Jakucionis.
The Heat was without Powell, Vlad Goldin (G League), Keshad Johnson (G League), Nikola Jovic (low back injury management), Trevor Keels (G League) and Terry Rozier (not with team) against the Nets.
Miami Heat center Kel’el Ware (7) boxes out Brooklyn Nets center Day’ron Sharpe (20) with Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) during the second half of a game on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, at the Kaseya Center in downtown Miami, Fla.
(Alie Skowronski/askowronski@miamiherald.com)
Herro looked comfortable in his second straight start for the sidelined Powell.
After playing as a reserve in his first four games back from a rib issue, Herro has now started two consecutive games for the injured Powell.
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Herro was effective on Tuesday, totaling 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field, 1-of-4 shooting on threes and 5-of-5 shooting from the foul line, three rebounds, two assists and one block in 27 minutes.
This starting role is nothing new for Herro, who has been primarily used as a starter since the start of the 2022-23 season. In fact, even including the four recent games as a reserve, Herro has only played off the bench in seven games since the start of the 2022-23 season.
Another encouraging thing about this stretch for Herro: After missing 45 of the Heat’s first 56 games this season because of injuries, he has now played in six straight games.
Herro has averaged 19.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game while shooting 48.4 percent from the field and 13 of 35 (37.1 percent) from three-point range in those six games since returning from a rib injury.
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“I think he’s making all of this look a whole lot easier than it actually is,” Spoelstra said of Herro. “He hasn’t played extended time. This is just really a short period of time that he’s been back. But I think each game it’ll get better. I trust Tyler and his work. He puts in so much time. But he just adds so much to our offense.”
The Heat and Nets face off in Miami again on Thursday, and that’s a good thing for the Heat.
The Heat has been good against inferior opponents, improving to 22-8 this season against teams that entered Tuesday with a losing record.
The Nets fall under that category, entering Tuesday with the league’s third-worst record.
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“I was pleased with the prep. I was pleased with the practice yesterday,” Spoelstra said following Tuesday’s victory. “And pretty consistent effort and focus throughout the course of the game. It was a good response. Now we can take a little bit of time and gather ourselves and get ready for Thursday night, as well.”
This two-game set against the Nets in Miami marks the fourth of six occurrences this that the Heat will face the same opponent in consecutive games this season. The Heat split its first two two-game sets of the season (vs. Cleveland Cavaliers on Nov. 10 and 12 and at New York Knicks on Nov. 14 and vs. Knicks on Nov. 17), and then won two of three straight games against the Chicago Bulls on Jan. 29, Jan. 31 and Feb. 1.
