Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points and 18 rebounds in his first victory with the Heat, leading Miami over the Atlanta Hawks 129-117 on Wednesday night.
Miami had lost its first four games after acquiring Antetokounmpo from Milwaukee in the offseason.
After the win, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra commended his players for staying positive amid the 0-4 start.
“We’ve been able to handle some adversity appropriately,” he said. “Nobody was hanging their heads when they came in the next day. We were all frustrated to the start of the season. This one game is not all we’re looking for. Obviously we’re trying to build something much bigger than that.
“But you have to deal with what happens in this league and not compound it with losing your spirit. And I didn’t sense any of that. It really was about coming together and trying to figure out solutions on how we all can be better. And that was everybody, to a man, the last several days. And that quality I think can serve us well as we continue this long journey of a long season.”
Antetokounmpo upped his scoring total to 138 points this season, the most by any Heat player in his first five games with the franchise. It was his 118th career game with 20 points and 15 rebounds, the third most in the league since his debut in 2013.
Bam Adebayo became the Heat’s career leader in rebounds in the win, passing Udonis Haslem. Haslem had 5,791 rebounds in his 20-season career with the Heat; Adebayo, who grabbed nine Wednesday, now has 5,794.
“Man, I can’t really put it into words,” Adebayo said in the televised on-court postgame interview as a member of the Heat staff secured the game ball to present to him. “The person I’m passing has been so close to me throughout my 10 years in this career, from the time I walked in until now.”
Haslem held the record since November 2012. He was Miami’s longtime captain, a role that Adebayo assumed when Haslem retired.
“It was a really special moment in the locker room,” Spoelstrasaid, beaming at Adebayo’s accomplishment. “So well deserved. He’s done it with an iron will, a work ethic that’s unmatched. That’s a lot of rebounds in traffic, getting hit, banged in there. To be able to do it and break the record of his brother, UD, that’s a really special moment.”
Andrew Wiggins scored 18 points and Pelle Larsson added 17 points, eight assists and six rebounds for the Heat, who shot 53 percent from the field and had a whopping 70 points in the paint.
Miami made 15 of 23 shots in the first quarter to take a 34-25 lead. It led 69-56 at halftime and took its biggest lead when Tim Hardaway Jr.’s 3-pointer made it 95-77 late in the third quarter.
Hardaway scored 14 points off the bench.
Business page for October 30, 2026
Minimum wage: NECA warns of business closures, mass layoffs
The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has warned that minimum wage decisions reached without the participation of organised private-sector employers could threaten business survival, trigger mass layoffs and undermine investor confidence.
The association urged the Federal Government and organised labour to ensure that employers have an equal voice in negotiations on the National Minimum Wage (NMW), insisting that wage determination must follow a tripartite process involving government, employers and workers.
In a statement by its Director-General, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, NECA acknowledged ongoing engagements between the Federal Government and organised labour but maintained that bilateral discussions could not replace the established tripartite framework.
The association recognised workers’ concerns over rising living costs and declining purchasing power but warned that further industrial disruptions could worsen the challenges confronting businesses, particularly small and medium-scale enterprises.
“Organised private-sector employers cannot be deemed parties to, or contractually bound by, agreements reached without their participation and concurrence,” NECA said.
It, however, clarified that employers remained obligated to comply with any National Minimum Wage validly established under the National Minimum Wage Act.
NECA said it was not opposed to negotiating or reviewing the minimum wage but insisted that the process must be inclusive, transparent and evidence-based, balancing workers’ welfare with the economic realities facing businesses.
Citing relevant International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions and recommendations, the association said meaningful consultation with representative employers’ and workers’ organisations was essential to determining a sustainable minimum wage.
It urged negotiators to consider the cost of living, productivity, enterprise sustainability, employers’ ability to pay, employment generation and retention, and prevailing economic conditions.
According to NECA, Nigerian businesses continue to grapple with high energy costs, inflation, expensive credit and other operational challenges that could constrain their capacity to absorb additional wage costs.
The association also called for a clear distinction between the statutory minimum wage and general salary increases, noting that the minimum wage represents the legally prescribed minimum compensation for workers covered by the law.
It said consequential salary adjustments, wage relativity and general salary increases should be addressed through collective bargaining, contractual arrangements and enterprise-level negotiations rather than being treated as automatic consequences of minimum wage determination.
