Antetokounmpo, Adebayo power Heat past Cavaliers in statement win

MIAMI. The Miami Heat offered a glimpse of what their star pairing can become on Friday night, as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo delivered their strongest joint performance of the season in a 133-121 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Adebayo finished with 37 points and 14 rebounds, earning high praise from his teammate, who called him "one of the most versatile bigs I've ever played with." Antetokounmpo matched him with 37 points of his own and added nine rebounds.

The win pushed Miami to 2-0 in NBA Cup play and brought the team back to .500 at 6-6. The Heat have now won six of their last eight games, a sharp turnaround after opening the season with four straight losses.

"Bam played great, aggressive, got to his spots. I did the same," Antetokounmpo said. "Every game will look differently. There will be times like tonight where we will overpower other bigs, but we can't force it."

The result carried extra weight for a Heat team still learning how its two stars fit together. Against Cleveland, the frontcourt looked as dominant as many expected when the pairing was formed, though Antetokounmpo stressed the process is far from finished. "We're making progress in trust. We need to keep doing our work quietly, humbly," he said. "There's still a lot of work to be done. We're not even close."

Adebayo set the tone as a scorer, rebounder and defender, and he took over early in the fourth quarter during a four-minute stretch with Antetokounmpo resting on the bench. Asked about that run, Adebayo said, "That's my unit," and noted he "had to get in my rhythm." Heat coach Erik Spoelstra highlighted the same stretch, saying Adebayo's superpower is "how he can connect a group to embrace a challenge and use his force of will."

Spoelstra said he first noticed a shift in the team about three weeks ago and believed an offensive breakout was coming. "Bam and Giannis, they are supposed to carry us with their force. Will the stat line always look like that? I don't know," he said. "That's a lot of force that they're putting on the opponent in the paint."

Both stars also credited point guard Davion Mitchell, who contributed 22 points and a career-high 17 assists. "That's insane," Antetokounmpo said of the performance.

Miami returns to action Saturday, hosting the Detroit Pistons on the second night of a back-to-back. Guard Klay Thompson, who sat out Friday with left ankle soreness, said he hopes to be available for that game.