Being told you are the worst team in the league is useful, as Giannis Antetokounmpo sees it, because it teaches you what the bottom feels like.
Hours after Miami’s 145-125 win over Indiana in their NBA Cup opener on Friday night at the Kaseya Center, the Heat’s new leading man told reporters he had found something to welcome in the 0-4 collapse that opened his Miami career.
“I feel like the first four games, it was a good feeling. We were kind of in shock of how things were going, but it’s a good feeling. Because now you know that feeling. Being down, being doubted, being criticized. And now that we are winning. We have two in a row. We just got to keep on staying humble, because this can flip immediately.”
The warning came after a win so complete the box score almost felt like showing off. Antetokounmpo finished with 31 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists on 13-of-18 shooting, the second triple-double of his season and the 58th of his career.
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Thompson’s third-quarter eruption
Klay Thompson delivered the clearest sign of life, burying five three-pointers in the third quarter alone on his way to 25 points on 7-of-12 shooting from deep. Bam Adebayo added 27 points on 11-of-14 shooting, and Davion Mitchell chipped in 15 points and 11 assists.
For Antetokounmpo, Thompson’s hot hand was almost a formality.
“The ball just found him. He’s one of our runners. He’s going to space the floor for us, he’s going to run the floor for us, and there’s going to be a lot of times that the ball is going to find him.”
A shorthanded Indiana side, missing Tyrese Haliburton among others, actually opened the game with a 42-point first quarter, before Miami tightened up and outscored the Pacers 67-46 over the middle two quarters.
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‘None of those things are true’
Antetokounmpo told Basketnews the loud early-season commentary had barely registered inside the locker room, and he framed the group’s response as a siege mentality.
“There are going to be times when people say you’re the worst, and there are going to be times when people say you’re the best. None of those things are true.”
The record, at 2-4, remains below .500. Miami fly out for a five-game West Coast trip that opens on Monday night against the Los Angeles Lakers.
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