For the first of six exhibitions, there still was a bit of preseason intrigue for the Miami Heat in Saturday night’s 126-118 loss to the Orlando Magic at San Juan at Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan.
– After finishing last season as a starter and then being named second-team NBA All-Rookie, 7-foot Kel’el Ware opened the preseason as a reserve.
– A day after formally signing a four-year, $62.4 million extension, Nikola Jovic instead received the start.
– And after facing an unknown future following December’s Achilles tear, Dru Smith was back in action ahead of his anticipated schedule.
Factor in the Heat debuts of Norman Powell and Simone Fontecchio, as well as the return of Precious Achiuwa, and it very much felt like a reset for Erik Spoelstra’s team after last season’s 37-45 10th-place finish.
With the primary elements of the rotation shut down for the second half, the Heat from Saturday’s starters got 11 points from Andrew Wiggins and 10 from Jovic, each playing 12:18. Powell scored five points on 2-of-6 shooting, with Bam Adebayo finishing 0 for 5 from the field but compensating by going 7 of 8 from the line along with five rebounds in his 12 minutes. None of those four played more than Powell’s 13:42.
Fontecchio closed with nine points, Achiuwa with five.
Next up for the Heat is their preseason home opener on Monday night against the Milwaukee Bucks at Kaseya Center.
Five Degrees of Heat from Saturday night’s exhibition in Puerto Rico:
1. A twist, for starters: With Ware played in reserve, Spoelstra opened with a starting lineup of Adebayo, Wiggins, Jovic, Powell and Jaime Jaquez Jr., who shot 2 of 7.
That lineup could have legs going forward, as the Heat go forward with Tyler Herro recovering from last month’s ankle surgery, injecting Jovic’s playmaking and shooting into the mix in Herro’s absence.
Ware played in the middle of the second unit, with six rebounds in his opening six-minute stint. He closed with 10 points and eight rebounds in 17 minutes.
2. Then Smith: Perhaps even more noteworthy than Ware not entering until 5:05 remained in the first period, was Smith entering even before.
Having torn his left Achilles in a December victory over the Brooklyn Nets, Smith only recently had returned to five-on-five contact play, with Spoelstra previously downplaying when Smith might return.
Instead, having crafted a Heat career on intangibles, Smith recorded a steal and blocked shot moments after entering at point guard. He then converted his lone first-quarter shot, a 3-pointer late in the opening period.
Smith finished with seven points in his 10 minutes.
3. Niko time: With the Heat formally announcing Jovic’s extension after breaking camp Friday, that made Saturday the first time the fourth-year forward was available to comment on the finalized deal.
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“I mean, what can I say, other than I’m super happy,” Jovic, 22, said after the morning shootaround, “I’m blessed for everything this organization has done for me. Having this official, we can kind of move on and get ready for the season. I don’t want to talk a lot about it. I’m happy and blessed, and I’ll make this work.”
Jovic’s extension kicks in for the 2026-27 season.
“We’re really excited for Niko,” Spoelstra said. “It’s been a fun process to see his maturation and improvement, learning how to become a professional. We drafted him at such a young age, and then you’re seeing him grow and mature right in front of your eyes. He’s earned this. He’s put in a great deal of work.”
4. Five out: Although the Heat stand at the preseason maximum of 21 under contract, five guards did not make the trip.
Davion Mitchell was added to that injury report when he sat out Friday’s final session of camp due to calf soreness.
The Heat already had been without Pelle Larsson since the start of camp due to a bruised left quadriceps sustained last month while playing for Sweden at EuroBasket. Then dropping out of the mix during camp were Terry Rozier (hamstring) and Kasparas Jakucionis (wrist). That is with Herro expected to be out at least the first month of the regular season.
5. First of many: The game was the first of three meetings between the teams over an 18-day period. The teams also meet Oct. 12 for an exhibition in Orlando, with the teams then opening their regular seasons Oct. 22 at Kia Center.
“We’re just still working on what we need to build,” said Jaquez, with the Heat having broken camp Friday at Florida Atlantic University. “Although we’re gone from Boca, this is still considered camp. We’re still working.”
