Giannis Antetokounmpo Says the Heat's 0-4 Start Was a 'Good Feeling' as Klay Thompson Breaks Out
Two wins after an 0-4 start, Giannis Antetokounmpo says being doubted was useful for the Miami Heat — and Klay Thompson's 25-point, seven-three night against Indiana showed what the roster looks like when it loosens up.
The Miami Heat's season began with four straight losses, and their best player is glad it did. After Friday's 145-125 NBA Cup win over the Indiana Pacers — Miami's second straight victory, and the game this desk filed as SQ-20261030-006 — Giannis Antetokounmpo called the brutal start "a good feeling because now you know that feeling," ClutchPoints reported Saturday. "We just gotta keep on staying humble, you know, because this can flip immediately," he said.
Antetokounmpo's own line was not the problem: a triple-double with 31 points and 10 assists against Indiana, and season averages of 28.2 points, 12.3 rebounds and 5.5 assists on 58.6 percent shooting through six games. The question was always the fit around him and Bam Adebayo, and his answer was about trust. "Just show up, do your job, and the next guy will do his job, and things will become easier for us," he said, adding that the team played "tight" in the first games because it wanted it so much.
The loosening-up had a face on Friday: Klay Thompson. After averaging 7.8 points on 31.7 percent shooting over the first five games, Thompson scored 25 on 9-of-14 shooting with seven three-pointers in 12 attempts, leading a season-best 18 made threes for Miami. "I knew I was due for a night like this," Thompson said. Head coach Erik Spoelstra called Thompson "the definition of ignitable" and said he "has an exponential possibility factor for this team."
The test of whether this is a turn or a blip starts immediately: the Heat open a five-game West Coast road trip on Monday night against the Los Angeles Lakers — Thompson's hometown team — carrying a 2-4 record, a functioning offense, and, by their leader's account, a useful memory of how the bottom felt.
