One hundred and thirty-nine nights after signing with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Max Strus hosted his old pals at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse and got showed up. Comically, he and Jimmy Butler aimed middle fingers at each other and then hugged before tipoff. The Heat, minus its two main centers and without Tyler Herro (out since Nov. 11), established control early and never conceded the lead.

The Cavaliers weren’t phased much early against man coverage, recording 26 points on 10 of 19 shots. Yet, it failed to stop Kyle Lowry from splashing five triples, a season-high, in the first quarter. He bombarded in transition and in the half-court at the wings when Cleveland over-helped. Thomas Bryant, Orlando Robinson and Butler each stole the ball and pushed the pace, racking nine fastbreak points.

Duncan Robinson guarded Strus around handoffs, forcing misses in the lane and at the wing. But the visitors’ biggest issue was Evan Mobley, who ran the floor for a putback in transition, scored from the dunker spot and took Butler off the dribble from the top to the cup.

Through 12 minutes, the Heat had a 37-26 lead, with Butler making a fifth of his tries. In the second quarter, Jaime Jaquez Jr. stormed Jarrett Allen in drop coverage for an eight-foot floater, hit a turnaround hook over the same guy (who has a five-inch height advantage) on the next possession, then connected on a left-wing catch-and-release triple when the closeout was late. Josh Richarson supplied two additional trifectas and a fadeaway over two-way rookie Craig Porter Jr., as the Heat’s next scoring leader of the quarter.

Still in the second, Miami forced seven more giveaways that turned into 10 extra points off mistakes and recovered three offensive rebounds that developed into nine second-chance points.

Strus finally got loose in each corner when Miami sagged off, and Mobley cracked the zone in the middle and slammed a lob from Darius Garland. Yet, on one play before intermission, Heat guard Dru Smith hurt his right leg when it landed to the side of the elevated court by the Cavs’ bench. His night ended there, and he was helped to the locker room.

At halftime, Miami led 69-55, with 21 points scored off Cleveland’s blunders and 14 assists to 4 turnovers.

In the third, Butler missed four attempts in a row but contributed by attracting extra attention on drive for the kickout triple to Haywood Highsmith and found Lowry for two supplemental 3-pointers. JJJ burned the Cavs with a corner tray when Cleveland scrambled after blitzing Lowry up top, then drove at Emoni Bates’ chest for a layup.

Defensively, the Heat forced four fresh turnovers when doubling and playing tight in single coverage. A steal by O. Robinson on Caris LeVert off a blitz angered the Cavalier so much that he verbally went at referee Brandon Adair and created a five-on-four for Miami and was hit with a technical foul. He kept going, then official Gediminas Petraitis issued his second, and he was gone.

At the start of the final interval, Cleveland’s coach J.B. Bickerstaff gave up, putting out four bench players on the court with his club down 22. Three of those four ( Damian Jones, Sam Merrill and Emoni Bates) are his bottom-shelf options.

Miami took a 30-point lead within minutes and finished the fourth quarter, making 11 of 19 baskets.

The Heat won 129-96. Lowry had 28 points on 60% shooting, and Jaquez had 22 on seven of 10 attempts.

When asked about Adebayo’s absence, Lowry said in his on-court interview that his center is irreplaceable but that he and the squad needed to get more open shots up regardless of him being out. “Tonight, we got an opportunity, and we didn’t pass them up.”

At the postgame presser, Spoelstra said there wouldn’t be an update on Smith until the team could do a scan. He also praised O. Robinson and Bryant’s minutes filling for #13. “We have more depth at those frontcourt positions than we’ve had probably in some of the previous years. We just really commend Thomas and [O. Robinson] for staying ready. This league is not easy when you are worthy enough to play and you are not playing….Both of those guys gave us great minutes.”

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Must we witness more tackles, squeezed windpipes, gouged eyes, crushed testicles, stomped rib cages and assaulted teammates so the NBA’s chief disciplinarian, Joe Dumars, cracks down on Draymond Green?

Affirmative.

A five-game suspension for suspension no.5 was mandated for him after he rear-naked choked Rudy Gobert fewer than two minutes into Golden State’s bout with Minnesota. The league also said that his previous incidents influenced the decision.

Yet he’s still very lucky. Most “castigating” measures in his career have been a slap on the wrist and they’ll continue as long as he’s enabled by coach Steve Kerr.

It shouldn’t go unnoticed, either, that when dealing with a bigger man, Draymond prefers to take him from behind.

Five games off is disrespectful to Gobert and the Timberwolves. Had anyone tried to suffocate another at league headquarters in Olympic Tower, they would have been cuffed, thrown in the wagon, and barred from any NBA territory.

Nobody should be convinced this will teach Green. Missing a handful of games isn’t enough to hurt his pocketbook or enough to make everyone around him wise up about how much his tomfoolery hurts them. It didn’t matter that he wasted away a championship and ran two of their own out of town. I wouldn’t hold my breath, but after getting extended for four years at $100 million, he’ll likely get worse until the commissioner says, “No mas.”

After watching Tuesday evening’s embarrassment, commish Adam Silver should have got creative and said, “I got this,” exercising Article 35 from the NBA’s Constitution.

“The Commissioner shall have the power to suspend for a definite or indefinite period, or to impose a fine not exceeding $50,000, or inflict both such suspension and fine upon any player who shall have been guilty of conduct that does not conform to standards of morality, or fair play, that does not comply at all times with all federal, state, and local laws, or that is prejudicial or detrimental to the Association.”

Starting at 15 games would have been appropriate. Of course, he wouldn’t because it would likely set up a showdown with the Players’ Union and undercut Dumars, who already failed to do his job by not suspending Green for a dangerous push in the back on Donovan Mitchell in Saturday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. On the break, Mitchell hit the brakes and didn’t tumble into the TV cameras.

Perhaps he was reprimanded privately, but publicly, Green was defended by his coach, claiming Gobert, who was trying to separate Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels from an entanglement, was getting in on the action. Kerr should have said “no comment” to any questions about the scuffle, or taken the fine for not showing up. His reckless wording is enough for Green’s cult followers to look the other way or say, “Wouldn’t you want a teammate who will have your back?”

Indeed, most would. But Thompson was in as much danger as someone pounced on by a golden retriever. It was obvious to everyone but Green, who targeted a man he’s publicly made fun of and toed the line with on the court. Remember when he mocked Gobert for crying because he didn’t make the 2019 All-Star team? Green is the type of hater to ridicule things people care about and hypocritical enough to say head injuries are too severe to be joked about, then aim for Gobert’s.

He’ll be back in time for a rendezvous with Golden State’s first-round opponent, the Sacramento Kings, on Nov. 28. The games he’s missing are against the Oklahoma City Thunder (twice, 7-4), Houston Rockets (6-3), Phoenix Suns (5-6) and San Antonio Spurs (3-8).

Aside from thwarting the Warriors, the suspension hurts Green’s efforts to catch Rasheed Wallace’s technical foul record (41) set in 2001. Hopefully, he can learn restraint, and if he does, the games he shows it might mean more in his career than any other achievement.

The percolating and undermanned Heat visited the Spurs and gave the 7-foot-4 Victor Wembanyama another warm welcome to the league, forcing him to play half his size. Yet, the Heat’s offense was disorganized, its glass protection was feeble, and it fell behind significantly in the first half without Tyler Herro and Kyle Lowry from the main rotation. But en route to the finish line, the match was tied seven times, with 10 lead changes before the Heat, winners of five straight, took control of the fourth quarter.

Miami was frozen in the first interval, making six of 23 attempts and at one point bricking 10 consecutively. The Spurs bothered jump shots, deployed drop coverage and allowed zero fastbreak baskets. After one period, the hosts led 29-15, holding Jimmy Butler and Duncan Robinson without a field goal in seven tries.

Early in the next frame, Keldon Johnson’s block on Jaime Jaquez Jr. set up a fastbreak triple to Malaki Branham, extending the Spurs’ lead to 19 points. Then, amid a 15-0 run, Robinson got loose for a layup down the middle and two trifectas over Doug McDermott. Butler rolled, faced up and hit a long-range bomb to register his first baskets. And Adebayo attacked Zach Collins in the lane for multiple finishes.

San Antonio’s Wembanyama made four of eight shots inside the arc but missed all six 3-point attempts in the first half, bailing out the Heat. He was defended by Adebayo, Kevin Love and Thomas Bryant, with a hint of 2-3 zone.

Miami cut the deficit to 50-53 at halftime, scoring 10 points off turnovers, seven on second chances and taking eight more shots at the line.

In the third quarter, Miami’s Beach Boy (Love) fired over Cedi Osman in the corner, pump-faked Wemby into oblivion at the top of the key to get free for a layup, and then hit another banger in the kid’s face on the left wing.

Yet, Miami’s 3-point defense slipped by unnecessarily helping away from the corners and losing track of the screener, off-setting its progress, as it permitted seven of 12 to fall.

In the fourth quarter, the Spurs converted its first four tries through PNR, a post-up and a lane jumper to regain an eight-point advantage. The Heat countered with 11 makes of its last 16 shots, engaging in a standoff 150 miles from the border.

Robinson schooled Wembanyama, blowing past him on the baseline for a layup in transition and faking him in the air for a left-wing triple. Additionally, Adebayo logged three elbow jumpers, a hook and a putback. And Richardson put down the Spurs with Miami’s last five points- a top-of-the-key jumper in front of Wembanyama and a fadeaway over Devin Vassell at the left hash mark.

Coach Erik Spoelstra’s Spoilers won 118-113, scoring 33 points off turnovers and 13 on second opportunities. Robinson finished with a season-high of 26 points on 50% shooting, with four assists and five rebounds. Adebayo had 24 points, 11 boards and six dimes.

Postgame, Robinson was interviewed on the court and said the Heat wanted to get greedy, winning two on the road. When asked about the work done on his handle, he added that he doesn’t want to be one-dimensional. “[I’m] just trying to grow as a player, be a little more dynamic than just shooting threes. Obviously, with guys out, too, responsibilities shift. [I’m] just trying to step in and then help us win.”

The Heat completed its second back-to-back set of the season, winning in Atlanta and San Antonio. The group failed in its first against Boston on Oct.27 and Minnesota on Oct. 28. Its record improved to 6-4.

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As the Heat’s offense diced the Grizzlies through the first quarter, Tyler Herro turned into the lane against the drop but landed on Jaren Jackson Jr.’s foot, twisting his ankle like a wet towel. He hopped to the locker room on one leg as soon as he could stand and was ruled out for the rest of the night.

Bam Adebayo and the crew registered its next 25 of 59 attempts for Miami, closing out the evening in a six-point win. He followed up Monday’s monstrous triple-double versus the Lakers with 30 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks in Memphis. As the game approached its conclusion, he and Jackson dueled for supremacy of the paint.

Adebayo threw his body around like a cannonball ripping through a naval vessel and converted 10 of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter alone. Through four periods, his midrange jumper battered Memphis, and the remaining mob filled in for Herro.

Haywood Highsmith swished open 3-pointers, ran the break successfully, dropped a couple of floaters and pestered his matchups. Kyle Lowry was a mobile artillery unit, recording four of seven trifectas, and finished an assist shy of a triple-double. And Jaime Jaquez’s double on Jackson, stripping him in the lane and outrunning two Grizzlies for a layup, put the Heat ahead by 10 with fewer than four minutes left.

Miami secured its first road win of the season via 13 second-chance points, 13 more on the break, another 13 off turnovers and making 39.3% of hoisted trays. Its primary issue, aside from losing Herro, was committing 19 turnovers that allowed the Grizzlies to stay within striking distance.

As for what follows, getting through Herro’s absence won’t be easy. He drove to the cup 12.4 times per game, up from 10.7 tries last season and splashed 42.1% of above-the-break triples (8.1 attempts). In multiple matches through the early campaign, he was the offense and made an early case for the Most Improved Player award. After the win, he speculated that the injury is “probably a couple of weeks” from healing, but based on how his limb bent, it’s probably wishful thinking.

While he’s out, the Heat are missing a creator, who assisted on 22% of his teammates’ shots. The club will depend on Lowry setting up Adebayo with additional frequency.

The Heat will likely have to keep burning with Duncan Robinson starting. He can’t create off the dribble like Herro, but he’s not a one-dimensional player anymore. This season, 31.6% of his shots are two-pointers on cuts or jumpers, when the last two years, it was 16.5%. Additionally, he’s picking up 9.7 more paint touches per contest.

Spamming two-man actions with Adebayo will still give opponents trouble because Robinson is more mobile with the ball, making it harder to trap him after the screen. In eight games, he’s averaging 11.3 points and his confidence is back.

Jaquez was second in minutes off the bench behind Robinson (21) in the win at Memphis. With Caleb Martin still recovering and Josh Richardson looking like a dud, it shouldn’t shock anyone if coach Erik Spoelstra starts depending on the rook further. His defensive instincts are solid, he’s an under-regarded athlete with exceptional footwork and 21.2% of his points scored so far have been on the break.

After the win, Adebayo was asked on the court about drawing fouls. He said, “Looking at the defense, realizing what I got, I could always get to that jumper, but [Spoelstra] wants me to get fouled more…”

Guaranteed, it’s not just Spoelstra but his teammates, too. His midrange attack was flowing, but when Adebayo is attacking the paint and forcing contact like on Wednesday, he puts the ultimate pressure on the defense because he attracts another defender. If that guy keeps showing up, and Jimmy Butler eventually does too, the squad might be able to go better than .500 while it waits for Herro.