Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro (14) gets by Brooklyn Nets guard/forward Terance Mann (14) to score in the first half of their NBA basketball game at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, on Thursday, March 5, 2026.
PHOTO BY AL DIAZ
adiaz@miamiherald.com
Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s 126-110 win over the Brooklyn Nets (15-47) on Thursday night at Kaseya Center to extend its winning streak to three games and close its three-game homestand at a perfect 3-0. The Heat (34-29) now hits the road to take on the scorching Charlotte Hornets on Friday at Spectrum Center (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Sun) to complete the back-to-back set:
After getting a 26-point win over the struggling Nets on Tuesday, Thursday’s matchup against the Nets didn’t go as smoothly. But the Heat still won by 16 despite foul trouble that kept starting center Bam Adebayo on the bench for most of the second half.
The Heat led by as many as 14 points in Thursday’s first half, but the Nets made a run late in the second quarter to enter halftime trailing by only four points.
The Nets took that momentum into the third quarter, beginning the second half on a 13-5 run to take a four-point lead over the Heat.
The Heat also had to play most of the third quarter without Adebayo because of foul trouble. Adebayo was called for his fifth foul with 6:56 left in the third quarter and he was forced to spent most of the second half on the bench.
But the Heat actually was able to regain momentum, even with Adebayo out of the game. The score was tied at 72 when Adebayo went to the bench with 6:56 left in the third quarter, and the Heat went on to close the period on a 23-11 run to take a 12-point lead into the fourth quarter.
The Heat extended its lead up to 24 points in the fourth quarter, and found itself ahead by 15 points when Adebayo finally re-entered the game with 4:43 to play. The Heat was in control the rest of the way, handing the Nets their 10th straight loss.
“That was probably our best stretch,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “When Bam went out, we had a really strong finish to the end of the third quarter. Our beginning of the fourth quarter was terrific. We got [the lead] up to 24, so I thought we could push that thing and leave Tyler [Herro] and Bam on the side with us. But then they knocked down three straight threes, and we were able to respond from there.”
Heat backup center Kel’el Ware proved to be an effective fill-in for Adebayo on Thursday, stuffing the box score with 16 points, 11 rebounds, five steals and seven blocks in 32 minutes in the win. Ware’s five steals matched the career-high mark that he set in Tuesday’s win over the Nets and his seven blocks set a new career-high.
Ware is the first player in Heat history to record at least 10 points, 10 rebounds, five steals and five blocks in a game. He’s the 22nd player and the first bench player in NBA history to reach those marks in a game.
“I mean, mark this up in Heat history and NBA history,” Adebayo said of Ware’s historic stat line. “So kudos to him, I’m proud of him. And he did it while getting a double-double, so that makes it even better.”
Adebayo was also effective in his minutes, finishing with 21 points, seven rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block in 25 minutes.
Herro added a team-high 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field, 2-of-7 shooting on threes and 5-of-5 shooting from the foul line, four rebounds and five assists in 31 minutes.
Michael Porter Jr. led the Nets with a game high 27 points, but he shot just 7 of 18 on threes.
“We just professionally came out and we all handled business,” Herro said. “I thought it was a great team effort on both sides of the floor. Everybody stepped up.”
The Heat’s back-to-back wins over the Nets on Tuesday and Thursday marked the first time that Miami has won consecutive games against the same team 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.
“It was a professional win,” Spoelstra said. “We wanted to be able to get this back-to-back set versus the same team. We haven’t been able to do that this year. We had a handful of cracks at it. We haven’t been able to do it. So just a little mini victory within a season.”
With the Heat missing two of its top three-point shooters, the Nets finished with a big edge in points from three-point range. But Miami negated that deficit by dominating in the paint and at the foul line.
Norman Powell (team-high 139 made threes this season) and Simone Fontecchio (third-most made threes on the team this season with 99) were unavailable for the Heat on Thursday because of groin strains.
Without Powell and Fontecchio, the Nets outscored the Heat 48-27 from three-point range.
The Nets shot 16 of 40 (40 percent) on threes and the Heat finished 9 of 27 (33.3 percent) from behind the arc.
But the Heat overcame that hole by outscoring the Nets 68-48 in the paint and 21-12 at the foul line.
Along with missing Powell and Fontecchio, the Heat was also without Vlad Goldin (G League), Keshad Johnson (G League), Nikola Jovic (low back injury management) and Terry Rozier (not with team) on Thursday.
The Heat again played Adebayo and Ware together and the results were again positive. But their time together was limited by Adebayo’s foul trouble.
For the third straight game, the Heat used the double-big look of Adebayo and Ware.
After the Heat outscored the Houston Rockets by 21 points in the 16 minutes that Adebayo and Ware played together on Saturday and outscored the Nets by eight points in the 15 minutes they played together on Tuesday, Adebayo and Ware again produced positive results.
The Heat outscored the Nets by 12 points in the nine minutes that Adebayo and Ware played together on Thursday. But they only shared the court for 1:31 in the second half because of Adebayo’s foul trouble.
Prior to this two-game stretch, Adebayo and Ware logged just three minutes together over the previous four games.
Since Feb. 8, the Heat has outscored opponents by 109 points in the 82 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.
But Adebayo and Ware again opened Thursday’s game in separate units.
With Powell missing his third straight game because of a strained right groin, the Heat went with the starting lineup of Davion Mitchell, Herro, Pelle Larsson, Andrew Wiggins and Adebayo for the third consecutive game.
The Heat then used a bench rotation of Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis and Dru Smith.
Jakucionis, a 19-year-old rookie, again flashed his intriguing upside.
Jakucionis has become a fixture in the Heat’s bench rotation, as Thursday marked his 35th appearance in the last 37 games. He has also logged double-digit minutes in 29 of those 35 appearances.
This comes after Jakcuionis played only 53.7 seconds in the NBA through the Heat’s first 26 games of the season.
Jakucionis continues to make the most his opportunities, finishing Thursday’s win with 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field and 3-of-7 shooting on threes, six rebounds and three assists in 21 minutes off the Heat’s bench.
Jakucionis has impressed his coaches and teammates with his energy, defensive pressure, playmaking ability and improved three-point shooting.
After Thursday’s victory, Jakucionis is shooting an efficient 44 of 100 (44 percent) from three-point range in his rookie season.
“Kas has really been working at it, and he’s clearly one of our better three-point shooters,” Spoelstra said. “I don’t know if you can make that case in July. He was a good three-point shooter, but he’s really refined it.”
Jakucionis, who was selected by the Heat with the 20th overall pick in last year’s draft, was part of a Heat bench that outscored the Nets’ reserves 54-34 on Thursday.
The Heat will go from facing one of the worst teams in the NBA on Thursday to taking on the hottest team in the league in an important game on Friday.
The Heat will travel to play the Hornets in Charlotte on Friday night on the back end of a back-to-back set.
While the Nets’ 10-game skid is the longest active losing streak in the league, the Hornets’ string of six consecutive victories is the longest active winning streak in the NBA.
Led by guard LaMelo Ball, rookie guard Kon Knueppel and third-year forward Brandon Miller, the Hornets are an eye-opening 19-6 after a shaky 13-25 start to the season.
The Hornets, who have not made the playoffs since the 2015-16 season, have posted the NBA’s top offensive rating and sixth-ranked defensive rating since Jan. 10.
“It’ll be fun,” Adebayo said of Friday’s matchup against the Hornets. “It’s another test for us to get over. And we’ve got to look forward to challenges like that. We’re going to go into later on in the season where six weeks from now, we’re going to have to get wins like that on the road. So it’s good for us to have that test now.”
Friday’s game also comes with some significant stakes for the Heat and Hornets, with both teams hoping to make the playoffs without needing to take part in the play-in tournament.
The Heat (34-29) sits in eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings, percentage points behind the seventh-place Orlando Magic (33-28) and one-half game behind the sixth-place Philadelphia 76ers (34-28).
But the ninth-place Hornets (32-31) aren’t far behind the Heat, entering Friday’s matchup just two games behind Miami. The 10th-place Atlanta Hawks (32-31) are also two games behind the Heat.
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 think we’ve earned the right these last three games to have a big game on the road tomorrow night,” Spoelstra said.
This story was originally published March 5, 2026 at 10:02 PM.
Related Stories from Miami Herald
Miami Herald
Anthony Chiang covers the Miami Heat for the Miami Herald. He attended the University of Florida and was born and raised in Miami.