Before the Magic took to the Kia Center court against the Hornets on Friday night, coach Jamahl Mosley said Charlotte‘s 10-20 record wasn’t indicative of what the team was capable of accomplishing.

Mosley made it clear Orlando needed to focus on taking care of the little things in order to secure the desired outcome during their second meeting of the season against the Southeast Division foe.

And he wasn’t wrong on either viewpoint.

The Magic trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half and later by as many as 24 in the third quarter when Charlotte exited a sold-out Kia Center on top 120-105, outrebounding Orlando 53-42 with 25 second-chance points.as

Charlotte (11-20) had seven different scorers finish in double figures, including 22 from star LaMelo Ball, as the team shot 19 for 39 (48.7%) from 3-point range.

In comparison, Orlando ended 11 for 35 (31.4%) from distance when nothing came easy on offense and the team couldn’t come up with the necessary defensive stops to mount a comeback.

The Magic (17-14) return to Kia Center on Saturday for the second game of a back-to-back when three-time MVP Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets (who beat Orlando by 11 points Dec. 18) make their lone trip of the season to Central Florida.

Starting 5

Playing without Franz Wagner (left high ankle sprain) and Jalen Suggs (left hip bruise) again, Tyus Jones and Anthony Black remained in the starting lineup alongside Banchero, Desmond Bane and Wendell Carter Jr. (16 points) against the Hornets.

Black, who had scored 19-plus points in the past four games, posted 15 in the first half after he hit his first three triples. He added his fourth 3-pointer in the fourth when he notched 24 in 36 minutes.

While Black had some success from distance, Bane and Banchero did not. The pair combined to shoot 0 for 4 from 3 before the break and ended 0 for 8 distance with missing all six of his attempts.

Bane drove to the basket early to reach 10 points by the half but was responsible for all three of Orlando’s first-quarter turnovers. He ended with just 15 points when he found himself in foul trouble after he picked up his fourth foul with 10 minutes left in the game and his fifth about two minutes later.

Banchero was passive at times when he missed first three shots from the floor and opened 1 for 5 and couldn’t find his footing the rest of the night. The Magic forward ended 4 for 13 shooting with just 13 points in 31 minutes.

Second unit

The Magic upgraded Tristan da Silva from probable to available earlier in the day after he had missed the past four contests due to a right shoulder bruise.

The second-year pro made his presence felt early when he hit his first 3-pointer and was the lone member of Orlando’s bench to score in the first half when he had 8 points with 2 assists. He didn’t score again.

Charlotte’s bench outscored Orlando’s 41-29.

Reserve center Goga Bitadze (left knee strain) missed his second straight game.

Rookie watch

Both Jase Richardson and Noah Penda entered in the first quarter but failed to make an offensive impact early.

Penda missed first three shots from the floor, including a pair of 3s, and only played 8 minutes through the first three frames. Richardson got on the board late in the third quarter with a triple and ended with 14 points in 22 minutes.

Hornets No. 4 pick Kon Knueppel posted 16 points when he shot 4 for 4 from 3, but did not return in the second half due to a right ankle injury.

Magic give back

At halftime of Friday’s game, the Magic surprised a local family with a variety of gifts as part of NBA Cares Season of Giving.

With help from president of business operations Charlie Freeman and Magic community ambassador Bo Outlaw, the team presented a family of four a new 2026 Kia Sorento EX, $5,000 for home furnishings courtesy of AdventHealth, family meals for a year from Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks, a three-day, two-night stay at Caribe Royale, four Chick-fil-A for-a-year packs, one phone and three tablets with service from Total Wireless, a free ice cream party at Kelly’s Homemade Ice Cream, four gift bundles from hair ties company Teleties, a 65-inch TV, an air fryer, a kitchen aid mixer, pots and pans, arts and crafts and other household essentials to assist them through difficult times.

It marked the 17th consecutive season the Magic have hosted one family around the holidays for “The Big Give.”

Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com

ATLANTA — What do you get when a pair of teams enter at 2-8 in their previous 10? The desperation of Friday night at State Farm Arena.

Miami Heat vs. Atlanta Hawks wasn’t about making a statement.

It was about coming up for air.

To that end, the Heat can breathe a bit easier, after stealing into the Georgia night with a 126-111 victory.

With his team playing in the ailment absences of Bam Adebayo (back) and Tyler Herro (toe), Heat coach Erik Spoelstra reshuffled his rotation and found enough to stop the bleeding.

Overcoming 30 points from Hawks guard Trae Young and 24 from forward Jalen Johnson, the Heat got 25 points from Norman Powell, 21 from replacement starter Pelle Larsson, 18 from Andrew Wiggins, 16 from Jaime Jaquez Jr., as well as a 16-point, 13-rebound double-double from Kel’el Ware.

The Heat are right back at it on Saturday night, against the Indiana Pacers at Kaseya Center.

Five Degrees of Heat from Friday night’s game:

— 1. Game flow: It was tied 32-32 after the opening period. Then, boosted by a 12-0 run late in the second period, the Heat moved to a 63-51 halftime lead, with 14 fast-break points in that second period.

From there, the Heat took a 90-84 lead into the fourth, pushing their lead back to double digits early in the period, with Wiggins stepping up his scoring.

Eventually the lead got to 15, forcing Hawks coach Quin Snyder to call timeouts 49 seconds apart. But as has been the case all season amid the inability to build leads into bigger leads, it soon was an eight-point game.

A banked-in Larsson 3-pointer eventually provided needed relief, the Heat holding on from there.

— 2. No Bam: Not only was Adebayo out Friday, but Spoelstra did not cast an optimistic tone about Saturday night against the Pacers.

“We’ll see,” Spoelstra said before Friday night’s game. “We’ll treat him day-to-day. I know him, I know his personality, I know how much he wants to be out there. But since it is back soreness and he wasn’t moving well two days ago, it didn’t really get better yesterday. Today was just full treatment and some light activities. So we’ll see where he is tomorrow.”

Spoelstra declined to address whether the back had impacted Adebayo’s recent uneven play.

“I’m not going to comment on that,” he said. “He wouldn’t want me to comment on that. But we’ll just do as much treatment as we possibly can. I do know that he needs this right now.”

— 3. The Larsson factor: With Adebayo out, Spoelstra immediately injected Larsson into the starting lineup in the first game back for the second-year swingman after missing the previous five with an ankle sprain.

It was Larsson’s 17th start of the season. The first five was rounded out by Powell, Ware, Wiggins and Davion Mitchell. The Heat entered 4-2 with that lineup.

Larsson was injured in the Dec. 9 NBA Cup road loss to the Orlando Magic.

Larsson was 3 for 3 for eight points in his initial six-minute stint, and he kept going from there.

Larsson finished 9 of 13 from the field, with six rebounds and five assists.

— 4. Jovic, too: In addition to Larsson, also back was Nikola Jovic, who missed the previous four games with an elbow contusion.

Jovic was fourth off Spoelstra’s bench, behind Jaquez, Kasparas Jakucionis and Dru Smith.

That had Simone Fontecchio out of the rotation for just the second time this season.

After an 0-for-4 start, Jovic completed a four-point play early in the second period, before then falling to 1 of 8, as his season-long struggles continued, later falling to 1 of 11.

Jovic closed 3 of 14, although he did add seven rebounds and four assists.

— 5. Powell play: The uneven recent run for Powell continued early, at just six points midway through the first quarter.

Previously on pace for his first All-Star berth, Powell in the three previous games had shot 7 of 21, 7 of 17 and 6 of 17.

This time it was a 2-of-6 start. With Herro and Adebayo out, more was needed. So Powell immediately responded with back-to-back 3-pointers.

Powell came around to close 9 of 16 from the field, with seven rebounds and five assists.

Through it all, Powell extended his streak of games scoring in double figures to 29, six off the longest such run of his career.

Egor Demin entered the season looking like a rookie still learning the rhythms of the NBA game. The timing, the pace, the physicality and nonstop reads that come at you faster than the film ever suggests.

Months later, the Nets see a point guard who’s begun to stitch those pieces together. The confidence is louder. The decisions are quicker. And the moments where he tilts the floor in his team’s favor are happening more often and with more intention.

Head coach Jordi Fernández has seen that shift from the very beginning.

“I think he’s more comfortable,” Fernández said. “I think he always played like he belongs, and that’s been great. I remember since that preseason game in Toronto. He played and showed right away why we were so high on him and how he handled himself. It’s not just about the shot making but also seeing the floor and his ability to get deflections and rebounds and all those things. We’ve seen how much better he’s gotten from Day 1… We still want to see more and better. And that goes not just for him, but everybody else on the roster.”

That preseason game in Toronto on Oct. 17 mattered because it offered the first real look at a teenager who didn’t appear rattled by NBA physicality or the moment. His handle stayed tight under pressure, though he did have two turnovers. His decision-making looked poised. He consistently put the ball where it needed to be. And he finished with 14 points on 2-for-3 shooting from deep, added five rebounds and left no doubt that the stage wasn’t too big for him.

The foundation was there. What’s followed since has been steady, visible growth.

Demin’s assist-to-turnover ratio hovering around 2-to-1 is the clearest indicator. For a rookie guard, it’s often the line between simply staying afloat and actually running an offense. Fernández believes Demin’s not only meeting that bar but capable of clearing a higher one.

“I think he’s doing a great job,” Fernández said. “You said it, 2-to-1 is very good. The next step is can he get to 3-to-1. And I think he can because he’s one of the best at finding the 3-point line in the NBA. The numbers say so, but now he has to mix it in with when he touches the paint, when teams are in drop, when he creates a 2-on-1, how he throws the lob.”

Right now, Demin’s reads lean toward the perimeter, where his height and vision let him deliver passes over the top of defenders. Brooklyn loves that part of his game, but the staff wants him to broaden what he sees. That means locating cutters, dropping in lobs, manipulating defenders with his eyes and recognizing when to keep his dribble alive instead of settling for the first available kick-out.

They’ve seen progress. Early in the third quarter of Brooklyn’s 113-103 win over the Chicago Bulls on Dec. 3, Demin found Noah Clowney for two left-corner 3s on consecutive trips, both arriving perfectly in rhythm.

“Those were simple passes, but those passes were right in the pocket, and for guys like Noah, those are layups,” Fernández said

For the Nets, this is exactly the growth curve they hoped to see. And Fernández plans to keep pushing him. In his mind, Demin’s already shown he can handle whatever comes next.

There are reasons for optimism for New York sports in 2026.

The Knicks are contenders in the wide-open Eastern Conference. The Yankees are set to get one of their biggest stars back. The World Cup is headed to MetLife Stadium.

As 2025 comes to an end, here’s what New York has to look forward to in 2026.

KNICKS IN THE MIX

This past year was kind to the Knicks, who advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000.

There’s reason to believe they can go even further in 2016.

The Knicks’ bench is deeper. The Eastern Conference is weaker. Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo could be traded before the February deadline, and his affinity for New York has been well-documented.

Whether they acquire Antetokounmpo or not, the Knicks have a chance to advance to their first NBA Finals since 1999 — and to win their first championship since 1973.

COLE COMEBACK

Gerrit Cole is not expected to be ready for Opening Day, but the Yankees’ ace is on track to return from Tommy John surgery during the season’s first half.

That will be a welcome sight for the Yankees, who envision an eventual rotation of Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Cam Schlittler and Luis Gil as a major strength.

Cole missed the entire 2025 season due to the elbow operation, but he is still just two years removed from a Cy Young campaign in 2023.

And while Cole is entering his age-35 season, he can take comfort in knowing Justin Verlander and Jacob deGrom returned to elite form after having Tommy John surgery at similar ages.

DART PART TWO

Jaxson Dart looked the part of a franchise building block during his rookie season, even if it didn’t result in many wins for the Giants.

The Giants now hope there’s a sophomore leap for the dual-threat quarterback, who should benefit from the returns of top receiver Malik Nabers and running back Cam Skattebo after this year’s season-ending injuries.

The ideal trajectory is that of the New England Patriots, who made a huge jump this year in Drake Maye’s second season.

Also sparking the Pats’ turnaround was the hiring of head coach Mike Vrabel. The Giants, of course, are now in the market for a new head coach following Brian Daboll’s midseason firing.

JET FUEL

The Jets find themselves in a similar position as last winter’s Giants, seeking a franchise quarterback without a clear-cut target at this point.

With five first-round picks over the next two drafts, the Jets have ample ammunition to trade up in the first round or to swing a deal for a veteran.

Heisman-winning Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza and Oregon’s Dante Moore appear to be the top QB prospects in 2025, though the 2026 class is expected to be stronger if the Jets decide to wait.

And Jets fans will fantasize about Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow demanding a trade, though someone like Arizona’s Kyler Murray is more likely to become available.

WORLD CUP

For the second time ever, the U.S. is hosting the men’s World Cup, this time sharing those duties with Canada and Mexico.

And for the first time ever, the World Cup final will take place in New York/New Jersey.

Indeed, MetLife Stadium will host the final on July 19 — one of eight matches that will be played at the stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC

And the World Cup won’t be the only major international sports tournament in 2026.

While New York isn’t hosting any WBC games, the event should still be of interest to local fans, as the Yankees’ Aaron Judge is the captain of Team USA and the Mets’ Francisco Lindor is the captain of Team Puerto Rico.

The WBC is scheduled for March 5-17, with the final set to take place at Miami’s LoanDepot Park.

ST. JOHN’S ENCORE

After winning the Big East’s regular-season and conference tournament championships in 2025, St. John’s entered this season with sky-high expectations.

And while the Red Storm got off to a slow start, head coach Rick Pitino remains optimistic that his new-look roster can round into form in time to defend its conference crown.

What St. John’s does as an encore is a major storyline in 2026, and meetings with UConn on Feb. 6 and Feb. 25 should be particularly telling.

CHICAGO — Winning is a contradictory thing for the Chicago Bulls.

The Bulls allowed opponents to score at least 120 points in four of their last six games. They also won all four of those games. This dichotomy is powering a four-game winning streak for the Bulls, who at 14-15 after winning five of six — including two straight over the Hawks in Atlanta — have nearly pulled themselves back to .500.

This might seem antithetical, but it has been the reality since the start of the season — when the Bulls are at their best, their defense seems to fall by the wayside.

“Listen, we’re not a great defensive team,” coach Billy Donovan said. “But we can be better and we can improve. We can take a little bit more control over the things that we can.”

The Bulls were never going to be a defensive juggernaut. Donovan entered the season warning about this roster’s defensive deficiencies. Even during the opening 6-1 stretch that fostered so much hope, the Bulls gave up at least 120 points in two of those wins. In fact, they have won only five games in which their opponent scored fewer than 120 points.

This Bulls team was always destined to win in spite of its defense, not because of it. But that’s not an excuse — or a fact that should let the Bulls off the hook.

“We’re going to have to figure it out,” guard Coby White said. “We don’t want to be one of these teams that’s just trying to outscore teams. We know what reality is. We’ve got to do the little things more in terms of taking away a couple baskets here and there.”

The Bulls play fast. As the rest of the league picks up its pace, the Bulls are still the second-fastest team in the NBA. That speed is almost entirely concentrated on the offense. Playing that fast invites the game to open up, which requires both defenses to communicate effectively, switch rapidly and react sharply if they want to keep up.

This is a boon for the Bulls offense, which picks apart opposing defenses in sped-up situations to force points in transition and sling 3-pointers while the defense is still getting set. But it only makes life harder for the defense, which is forced to compete at the pace the Bulls already set — and often falls apart as a result.

It’s easy to blame this on effort. The Bulls often look disjointed and discombobulated on defense, which means they don’t contest consistently enough at the rim (where they allow 21.6 baskets per game) and allow open shots at the perimeter.

In particular, the defense struggles with switches. The Bulls lineup includes several visible weaknesses — notably, both center Nikola Vučević and guard Josh Giddey offer poor options to switch on screens due to their lack of maneuverability from the perimeter to the rim. The Bulls often choose simply to force both players to switch regardless — relying on help defense from the weak side to bolster both players — but poor communication is a primary disruptor in these situations.

When Donovan talks about defense with the Bulls, he still is focusing on fundamentals: boxing out, communicating, staying aware of gaps and lanes.

“I’m not saying we’ve got to be perfect, but the total intention to focus has got to be on those things,” Donovan said.

A simple fact of basketball is that poor defensive teams simply have to work harder on that end of the court. Donovan has been tempted at times to use more gimmicky defensive tactics — like shifting into a matchup-specific zone — to combat his team’s lack of natural defensive discipline. Those fixes can help in the short term, particularly when the Bulls are facing a particular sharpshooter or need to accommodate a lack of length at the rim.

But in the long term, the Bulls are focused on the margins. This team isn’t going to hold opponents under 105 points per game, but it can reduce scoring through improved intention in those same fundamental areas.

“We’re going to have to help a little bit more,” Donovan said. “We’re just going to have to be a team that’s going to have to help each other more. It’s going to be hard to win giving up that many points and expecting to score as many as we did.”

NEW YORK — Eighty-two. Seventy-three. Seventy-two. Eighty-two. Eighty-three. Eighty-two. Eighty-two — and now 29.

Mikal Bridges’ track record of perfect attendance reads like an NBA head coach’s fantasy.

Mike Brown is living that fantasy in real time during his first season at Madison Square Garden, guiding a Knicks team with championship aspirations. Bridges isn’t just a premier two-way wing capable of locking down the league’s best scorers one night and detonating offensively the next.

He’s also the league’s reigning, uncontested iron man. If there’s any certainty to the Knicks’ season this year, it’s Bridges suiting up for tipoff every night.

And in a league increasingly shaped by load management and star absences, Bridges’ availability has become its own competitive advantage — one you can’t quite put a price on (though the Knicks might argue otherwise after surrendering five first-round picks to acquire him from Brooklyn, then signing him to a four-year, $150 million extension this summer).

“The best ability is availability, and to have that is a big thing,” Brown said after practice in Tarrytown earlier this month, just before the team boarded its flight to Las Vegas for the NBA Cup semifinal. “And anybody — everybody — would love to have that.”

Bridges is the only current player to appear in 500 consecutive games, with 600 looming. He and Golden State’s Buddy Hield are the only active players who haven’t missed a game over the past five seasons. And in 2023, after a midseason trade from Phoenix to Brooklyn created an extra contest on his schedule, Bridges became the first player since Josh Smith in 2014-15 to appear in 83 regular-season games.

On Christmas Day against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Bridges will move into 11th place all time in consecutive games played, surpassing James Donaldson’s mark of 586 set in 1981. He can pass Jack Twyman and John Stockton (tied for ninth at 609) as soon as January, and overtake Andre Miller’s 632-game streak to stand alone in eighth place by season’s end.

“He takes care of his body. He does a great job taking care of his body,” Brown said. “I don’t know what his sleep patterns are like, but I know that he works extremely hard with his preparation. And when you work as hard as he does with your preparation, usually good things happen. And then probably got good genes. So thanks mama.”

Bridges hasn’t missed a game since high school. He played 116 straight at Villanova, where Jalen Brunson first saw the lengths his teammate would go to just to be available.

Now reunited in New York, Brunson says nothing has changed.

“He takes care of his body. He works tremendously hard,” Brunson said. “He’s a psychopath when it comes to his craft. So he’s really locked in with everything he needs to do to make sure he’s ready. And that’s just who he’s been since I’ve met him.”

A psychopath?

“That’s not my story to tell,” Brunson said with a grin. “But he’s a lunatic for sure.”

Bridges owned the label moments later.

“Maybe a little bit of a psychopath, but nothing crazy,” he said. “Just trying to take care of it every single day. Try to stay up on it.”

What might read as lunacy from the outside has become ritual for the NBA’s longest-standing iron man.

“I take advantage of the cold tubs, always get a massage before the game, the stretcher routine and everything,” Bridges said. “I think it’s just being consistent with it. It’s a long season with a lot of emotions going on. People tend to stop doing all the things. I just try to be consistent all the time and continue to do all the things that are going to get me prepared for the game.”

Bridges isn’t chasing records. But if he finishes this season with perfect attendance once again, he’ll reach 638 consecutive games played. To catch A.C. Green’s NBA record of 1,192 straight appearances, Bridges would need 555 more — roughly seven additional seasons.

That would take him to age 37. A lot of basketball to play. A lot of mileage to accrue. But maybe not quite an impossible feat for the basketball psychopath on the loose at the Garden this season.

To Karl-Anthony Towns’ credit, he did everything he could to keep the short-handed Knicks in the fight Tuesday at Target Center.

In his second game played in Minneapolis since being traded ahead of the 2024-25 campaign, Towns tallied 35 points and 11 rebounds.

The Knicks — who were without Jalen Brunson, O.G. Anunoby, Deuce McBride, Guerschon Yabusele and Landry Shamet — led midway through the third quarter.

But the Timberwolves eventually managed to overwhelm New York for the team’s third-straight win and 10th in its last 12 games via a 115-104 victory.

Anthony Edwards scored 38 points, Julius Randle had 25, 17 of which came in the final frame. Rudy Gobert continued his recent interior dominance, logging 11 points and 16 rebounds.

“Pick shoutout to Big Ju. He picked it up in the fourth quarter and led us to the win,” Edwards said in his postgame, on-court interview. “We call him ‘The Bully,’ and he played like a bully in the fourth quarter. ”

Towns fouled out with 35 seconds to play and exited the court to a nice ovation from the Minnesota faithful.

“Big shoutout to KAT,” Edwards said after the game. “Show love to KAT.”

Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart struggled mightily for New York (20-9), going 11 for 27 from the floor. Towns’ only assistance came in the form of second-year point guard Tyler Kolek, who logged 20 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.

Bridges and Hart struggled on a night when the Wolves’ perimeter defensive intensity was stout, with Edwards playing a large role in those efforts.

Minnesota was out-rebounded 55-42, but made up that gap and then some by forcing 19 turnovers that resulted in 22 points.

Naz Reid had eight points and 11 rebounds, while Minnesota won Bones Hyland’s 25 minutes by a gaudy 24 points.

Minnesota next plays on Christmas night in Denver in a nationally-televised affair between two of the best teams in the West.

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MIAMI – On the night before the night before Christmas, another lump of coal for the Miami Heat.

So make it eight losses in the last nine games and a .500 record at the holiday break with Tuesday night’s 112-91 loss to the Toronto Raptors at Kaseya Center, this time their lowest-scoring game of the season.

Looking nothing like the team that dominated on offense at the start of the season, Erik Spoelstra’s team instead this time fell to Sandro Mamukelashvili & Co.

Unlike the efforts in road losses to the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks over the weekend, when the Heat competed until the decisive stages, this had the look of a team beaten down by the recent losses, in desperate need of a break.

At 15-15, the Heat now get Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off, before returning for a back-to-back set on Friday night in Atlanta and then Saturday night at home against the Indiana Pacers.

By then, it will become a matter of whether they can avoid having a losing record for the first time since they stood 1-3 after a Nov. 2 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The numbers were limited across the board for the Heat, save for a 21-point performance from Jaime Jaquez Jr.

Otherwise, 17 points from Norman Powell on 6-of-17 shooting, nine from Bam Adebayo and this time only five points and nine rebounds from Kel’el Ware.

Scottie Barnes led the Raptors with 27 points, on a night Mamukelashvili also outscored much of the Heat roster.

Five degrees of Heat from Tuesday night’s game:

—Game flow: The Raptors led 21-16 after the first quarter and 51-44 at halftime.

The Heat then went down 16 in the third quarter,

Then, as was the previous two games, in the road losses in Boston and New York, the Heat swooned at the end of the third period, this time down 82-67 going into the fourth.

The Raptors extended their lead to 21 early in the fourth quarter, effectively ending it.

It ended with the Heat at .402 from the field and 8 of 30 on 3-pointers, with 18 turnovers.

—Nothing early: The Heat’s lowest-scoring first half of the season was a study in struggle.

The Heat were 4 of 18 on 3-pointers over the first two periods, with 10 turnovers at halftime.

No Heat player had more than three field goals in the first half, with Andrew Wiggins the lone starter with even that many.

For that matter, even the start was telling, with Toronto moving to an initial 16-3 lead.

Both of the Heat’s two lowest-scoring games of the season have come at Kaseya Center against the Raptors, the Heat’s only two games below 100 points this season.

—Adebayo off: The offensive struggles continued for Adebayo, this time with just three points in the first half on 1-of-5 shooting.

Adebayo also was just 1 of 3 from the foul line in the first half, compensating somewhat with his game-high eight first-half rebounds.

Adebayo closed 4 of 11 from the field, albeit with a game-high12 rebounds.

— Three down: The Heat continued in the injury absences of Tyler Herro (toe), Pelle Larsson (ankle) and Nikola Jovic (elbow).

“I am very encouraged by the progress,” Spoelstra said pregame. “They’re not ready to go tonight, but we don’t have a timeline.

“I came in yesterday and I was encouraged.”

And then the Heat took the court, showing how much the scoring of Herro, the energy of Larsson and perhaps even the creativity of Jovic are needed.

— Comeback tour: On the one-year anniversary of his Achilles tear, Dru Smith sparked the Heat off the bench with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting in his initial eight-minute stint.

Smith ruptured his left Achilles in a Dec. 23, 2024, victory over the Brooklyn Nets. He was on the verge of being converted to a standard contract at the time of his injury.

He finally got that contact this past offseason, re-emerging as a rotation mainstay.

Smith closed with 10 points, two rebounds and two assists.

____

MIAMI — Losing can be painful enough, with the Miami Heat dealing with plenty over the past three weeks. Death by 3s can be excruciating.

As it was in the fourth quarter of Friday night’s loss to the Boston Celtics and then throughout the night on Sunday against the New York Knicks.

Lately, much of the pain for the Heat has been over the top.

Despite entering the week sixth in the NBA in 3-point defensive field-goal percentage, the Heat also entered the week allowing the seventh-most 3-pointers per game.

So, yes, there is acknowledgement that something has to change.

“That’s us,” guard Norman Powell said of opponents recently breaking open games three points at a time. “I mean, the Boston game, you break down and watch the film, everybody is like, ‘Oh, they just got hot.’ But they took advantage of our glitches, our miscommunications on switches.”

The Celtics were 10 of 15 on 3-pointers in that fourth quarter, on a night Boston guard Derrick White closed 9 of 14 from beyond the arc.

“The first half we did a really great job getting them in the mud, taking them off the three-point line, making their three-point shots tough,” Powell said of the loss at TD Garden. “And then I’ll say the last 15 minutes of that game, our miscues and miscommunications and switches on defense and that Boston game opened up the threes for them. And then they got hot. They burned us on every one of those miscommunications on defense.”

Fast forward then to Sunday night at Madison Square Garden, when the Knicks closed 20 of 38 from beyond the arc, with guard Mikal Bridges 6 of 7 on 3-pointers.

“Not getting back in transition or locating Bridges in transition, he got a lot of wide open shots there,” Powell said, with the Heat turning their attention to Tuesday night’s game against the Toronto Raptors at Kaseya Center, before a two-day Christmas break. “So, I mean, it’s honestly us and being more mentally locked in and knowing guys’ tendencies and what they like to do.”

The Heat’s approach has long been prioritizing protecting the paint, while also appreciating the need for energetic and timely closeouts at the 3-point arc.

But in what increasingly has evolved into a 3-point league, such daggers become defeating.

Guard Davion Mitchell said it was clear the Heat allowed the Knicks on Sunday to grow their confidence throughout the game from the arc.

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“I think when you get comfortable and you kind of let them get open threes or threes that we should contest, and they hit one, you kind of get confidence,” he said. “Just like the beginning game, you get confidence. It’s kind of hard to stop any of those guys because they’re really good players. So I think we got to start at the beginning of the game and not making them comfortable.

“Make their first shot like a hard one or a tough one, a contested three or even just run them off the three-point line, and kind of just live with the results from there and trust our teammates to help us on the backside. So I think we just got to stop letting them get comfortable in the beginning.”

In addition to Bridges’ 3-pointers, the Heat also were victimized by Jalen Brunson’s 6 of 13 from beyond the arc in his 47-point performance, the highest-scoring game against the Heat this season.

“It’s got to be more,” coach Erik Spoelstra said of his team’s 3-point defense. “It could be something different. (Sunday), they hit shots while we were there. Other than Bridges in the first half, I thought he shook free for some transition threes. Brunson’s threes, we’re there. If they’re making them, what it requires is more.

“You don’t know what it requires until you get the stop, and we’re going to get there.”