MIAMI – After the Miami Heat had a huge win over the New York Knicks last Sunday, the team came back on Tuesday night and continued their momentum with a 144-117 victory over the Charlotte Hornets. While fans could see the win as the Heat getting payback for the Terry Rozier situation, star Bam Adebayo and the team are more focused on the early success so far this season.
In the win over Charlotte, Adebayo would have 26 points on 10 of 16 shooting from the field, three of five from deep, to go along with six rebounds and two assists. Overall, Miami's captain is loving what he's seeing from the team so far on the offensive side of the ball as the 144 points are the fourth-highest total in team history, a few games after scoring 146 (third-highest) against the Memphis Grizzlies last Friday.
Adebayo would say after the contest how he thinks these are the moments that you “cherish,” harkening back to last season, where they were “in the mud all last year,” trying to fix the offense.
“We're enjoying how we're playing,” Adebayo said. “To have those types of moments, man, you cherish those because you, from my standpoint, remember how we were in the mud all last year trying to figure out how to win. And, you know, to have these types of games where you're putting up 140, you know, it's very fun for a lot of us.”
Bam Adebayo would say it’s very fun to have games like this where they score 140 points, and how that differed to when they were “in the mud” last season: #HeatNation pic.twitter.com/DQwD964AIP
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) October 29, 2025
Here are some takeaways from the Heat's win over the Hornets to mark their third straight win:
Jaime Jaquez Jr. continues resurgence in first half vs. Hornets
With the Heat looking to sustain its new fast offense, the success continues into Tuesday night against the Hornets to start, but while Miami ranks towards the top in the league through three games in pace, so does Charlotte. Led by LaMelo Ball, the guard scored 15 points in the first period, shooting five of eight from the field, four of five from three-point range.
However, the Heat would once again play impressively under the new look on offense, scoring 37 points in the first period, led by another standout showing by Jaime Jaquez Jr. (10 points in the first quarter) and the rest of the second unit. At one point in the first half, Miami's bench outscored Charlotte, 25-0.
Jaquez would end up scoring a whopping 20 points in the first half, shooting five of six from the field, two of three from deep, to go along with two rebounds and a steal. He continues to display a resurgence from the sophomore slump, now having a much clearer mind and returning to his strengths, helped by the up-tempo offense. Simone Fontecchio has also been impressive, scoring 10 points.
As Powell is out, it could have been said that this could be a crucial game for Wiggins to step up, which he did in the second quarter, contributing with nine key points. The fast-paced offense is here to stay as the Heat shot 55.3 percent from the field and 11 of 21 from beyond the arc in the first half, leading to a whopping 76 points, the fourth-highest scoring first half in team history.
The Heat meet adversity in holding a big lead over the Hornets
As the Heat's bench continues to make an impact for the team, the overall team structure would continue the momentum in the first half into the second, building a 16-point lead, though a Hornets run would dwindle that down to three points. While it might hurt for Miami fans to remember, the team had a major issue in building double-digit leads and losing them, leading to defeat, even ranking towards having the most blown leads.
Adebayo would say to ClutchPoints after the game that he loved the “resilience” of the team in not backing down.
“The resilience, you know, when you see it getting sideways and we go in the huddle and we talk about it and actually translate to us affecting the game on the court and really going out there and building that lead up again,” Adebayo said.
Asked Bam Adebayo about what he liked from the performance, mentioned the resilience of when the game went sideways and how it’s translating when they speak on changes within the huddle: #HeatNation pic.twitter.com/e047QLIddp
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) October 29, 2025
However, the Heat stayed composed on Tuesday against Charlotte, never forcing shots or going away from their up-tempo offense that got them this early success. Once again, small sample size, but it's another aspect that shows that Miami has improved after the drag and slog of last season.
Jaquez would have his best game of the season thus far, finishing with 28 points on nine of 14 shooting from the field, two of four from deep, to go along with five assists and four rebounds. Plus, Wiggins would also have his best game of the season thus far with Powell's absence, totaling 21 points.
At any rate, Miami is now 3-1 on the season and has major momentum as the team embarks on a four-game West Coast road trip, starting on Thursday against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs.
