Giannis Antetokounmpo fouled out in the final two minutes at the Spectrum Center, finished with 14 points in 25 minutes, and watched Miami’s late comeback die from the bench.
The Heat had trailed by 23 and clawed all the way back to level, 100-100, before Charlotte closed it out. Brandon Miller finished with 34 points on 10-of-29 shooting, 11 of 12 from the free throw line, bouncing back from a six-point outing in a 47-point home-opener loss to Atlanta a night earlier. Dennis Schröder added 25, Naz Reid 23 and Grayson Allen 20.
71 points, no wins
Antetokounmpo arrived in Miami in a July trade from the Milwaukee Bucks as the headline NBA move of the summer. In the Heat’s first two games he scored 35 and 36, a 71-point opening pair that stands as the best two-game offensive start in Miami’s franchise history. They lost both: 131-106 to Minnesota, 128-111 to Detroit, surrendering a franchise-record 259 points across the two home defeats.
Asked about the start after the Detroit loss, Antetokounmpo did not try to downplay it.
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“We were definitely shocked,” he said.
He also turned the criticism on himself, according to Bolavip.
“We have to be better. It starts with myself always.”
Miami’s defence tightened in the fourth quarter and the team made 23 of 25 free throws, yet their highest-paid player watched the end of a one-score game from the bench after a sixth foul.
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‘Not in panic mode’
Erik Spoelstra pointed to the physical treatment Antetokounmpo takes every night.
“I’m just talking about the physicality that he endures every game, and then he’s the one that fouled out,” Spoelstra told reporters after the game. “He doesn’t foul out very much, but that’s the tough part of officiating a player like him. That’s like Shaq. You’re defending yourself, and so there’s a lot more physicality with stronger players than is allowed with guys that are smaller.”
Davion Mitchell, who had 22 points and 10 assists in defeat, told reporters the group is not in crisis.
“It’s a new team. We’re kind of learning each other’s personalities, learning each other’s games, still. It’s game three. We’re not in panic mode. We’re going to figure it out.”
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The Heat host the Dallas Mavericks at Kaseya Center on Monday.
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