1. If you had for some reason forgotten that Giannis Antetokounmpo is indeed one of the five best players in the league, you got an emphatic reminder tonight.

No Bam Adebayo in this one, day-to-day with groin tightness, so Erik Spoelstra slid Nick Richards into what has become the usual starting lineup. Almost immediately, Miami was off to the races against the Brooklyn Nets, Davion Mitchell opening scoring with a warp speed layup before Antetokounmpo followed up with a same, only his was through contact for the and-one.

Klay Thompson hadn’t yet made his full offensive impact in this preseason – not that there was any cause for concern, he was just being guarded closely – but after a few minutes of defensive playmaking he was on the board with a series of jumpers reminding everyone of what he can do without so much as a dribble.

Miami pulled away for a bit, the Nets closed the gap – much of their run with Antetokounmpo off the floor – with bursts of shooting, but the story was all Antetokounmpo on both ends. The offense was what you’ve either grown to expect over the years or are quickly familiarizing yourself with, speed blitzes in the open floor past a Nets defense that was playing with picking him up near mid-court and plenty of work through contact in the lane, with a dribble jumper mixed in.

The defensive playmaking, however, had a regular season feel to it, first with a chasedown block on Julius Randle in transition, then with a spectacular two-handed denial of a Noah Clowney dunk attempt along the baseline and finally a weak-side swat of a Egor Demin layup which for a split-second appeared to be wide open.

By the time the halftime break came along, Antetokounmpo had already put together 18 points (7-of-8 shooting), 11 rebounds, five assists and three blocks – an excellent night of work for most anyone else. Miami up, 69-66, at that point, the difference in three-point shooting keeping Brooklyn in it.

Starters back out there for the third quarter, the first time the lineup had remained intact – minus Adebayo tonight – through halftime this preseason. Mitchell briefly had to get treatment for a cut over his eye, but he returned to take a pair of free throws before leaving the game again.

Brooklyn took back the lead for a few beats, only for Ryan Conwell – in for Mitchell – to hit a pair of threes to keep Miami out front, with a third coming a minute later. By the time Thompson dropped in a corner look off an Antetokounmpo read and Antetokounmpo tossed up a no-look oop to Richards, the HEAT were back in control, up nine, with subs on the way.

Brooklyn – a rebuilding team that is nevertheless well coached and relentless – never quite faded into the night, but Miami was in control throughout, their own shooting catching up to the quality of looks they were earning. Miami up nine through three, five players with at least a couple of threes, after a 43-point point quarter.

Bench regulars still out there to begin the fourth, Mitchell back on the floor after receiving stiches over his right eye, and Miami continued to inch away, eventually into double digits. Most of the regular were pulled midway through the fourth, and that was that, Miami taking this one, 144-128, with one preseason contest, on the road in Orlando, to go.

2. Picture this. Picture a player who, in just 23 minutes, can put up a line of 20 points, 15 rebounds, nine assists, three blocks and a steal.

Is that something you might be interested in?

Look, if we called out just how good Antetokounmpo is, both in the present-day league and from a historical perspective, we realize it would get tiresome. It is stating the obvious, of course. But for a preseason game, tonight was a moment, one when the stakes of the game failed to match the energy Miami’s new star brought to the building.

And for as much as none of what he was doing was new, for him, it is worth saying that even without Adebayo available tonight, the nature of Antetokounmpo’s blocks – in transition, on the weakside, helping out those around him – presented a solid argument for why he is such an ideal complement to what Adebayo can do out front with the switch, one big stopping the ball, in the hands of a star, in its tracks while the other cleaned up the rest of the floor as the shot clock dwindled and the ball moved to the opposite side. It’s been an obvious connection since the day the trade was made, but it was theory then. Tonight, especially, you could see the reality.

Miami has a guy who gives them a chance to win at the highest level. This was just another reminder of that, as a premise, and of how much fun those guys can be to watch.

3. While Antetokounmpo may be what anyone in attendance tonight will remember going home, this is a good opportunity to talk about someone who doesn’t get talked about much and that’s Andrew Wiggins.

Wiggins doesn’t talk much, both on and off the court. His game isn’t particularly flashy anymore, save for the occasional highlight that reminds everyone he is an All-World athlete. He does not attract a strong narrative, in either direction. And yet he’s exactly the sort of player – someone who can be an All-Star version of a role player – who might make a full round of difference when it comes to how far Miami advances in the postseason.

All preseason Wiggins has been ready and willing to make any play that Antetokounmpo sets him up for, plays that have been plentiful and constant, open looks on the wing and hit heads in transition. We know the defense is solid as they come. And we know he can create a shot whenever necessary, off the dribble or the cut as he did both tonight.

In just 21 minutes of play, Wiggins had 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting, calmly working off the speed of Mitchell and the everything of Antetokounmpo.

And elsewhere, as a final note, Miami had another game hovering around 40 percent from three after a slow start, another game with plenty of shooting, with both volume and efficiency.