While the Miami Heat are dealing with other injuries to some players, such as Andrew Wiggins, the team almost went through another scare on Friday night with their leading scorer, Norman Powell. As Powell has transformed the Heat this season, an injury to the veteran guard is the last thing the team needs, as he goes through the events of his injury during the team's 143-107 blowout win in an NBA Cup group play game over the Chicago Bulls.
With 4:34 left in the first quarter, Powell left the game with what the team listed as a “left groin strain” and was deemed questionable to return. Speaking after the game, Powell revealed he wanted to return to be with his teammates, and after going back to the sidelines on the stationary bike and feeling good, he came back out.
“I just felt it on that last layup I had in the first half, and wanted to get it checked and make sure that there was nothing more serious than that,” Powell said, according to The Miami Herald, video via Heat Diehards on X, formerly Twitter. “We wrapped it up, did a little test, and I'm always gonna try to fight through pain and injuries. I love the game too much; I don't want to take anything for granted. If I'm able to play, I feel like I'm going to play, I go out there and give it the best I can. I know the team needs me out there. And I'm just glad it's nothing too serious.”
Norman Powell on the groin injury:
“I felt it on that last layup in the first half and wanted to get it checked to make sure there was nothing more serious than that. I’m always going to fight through pain — I love the game too much. If I’m able to play, I’m going to go out… pic.twitter.com/350hwNGVwS
— Heat Diehards (@HeatDiehards) November 22, 2025
Heat's Norman Powell on the “high pain tolerance” he has
After the Heat's win over the Golden State Warriors last Wednesday, the team wanted to keep the winning ways going against Chicago. However, there's no denying that fans were holding their breath to see what the severity of Powell's injury was, though he would return and play like he wasn't hurt, scoring eight points in the first three minutes he came back.
In total, Powell scored 19 points on six of 14 shooting from the field in 25 minutes, as he was asked after the contest how his groin felt when coming back into the game. There could be concern since he missed three games earlier this season with a groin injury, but Powell made it seem that he and the team aren't worried about it, with the guard citing his “high pain tolerance.”
“It felt good,” Powell said. “I felt it here and there, I thought we did a great job of adding some extra support for it. I saw the doctors, and they’re not worried about it. They don’t think it can get any worse. So it’s all about pain tolerance. I have a high pain tolerance, so I’m not too worried about it.”
Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra would echo the same sentiments, emphasizing that Friday night wasn't the same issue as before with Powell's groin.
“[Powell] was just tight,” Spoelstra said. “He’s very aware because of what he went through earlier. But it wasn’t the same thing, and he loosened up, got checked out by the trainers, and he assured us that he was ready to go and he feels good right now.”
Miami has won three straight, looking to extend it to four on Sunday against the Philadelphia 76ers.
