The Miami Hurricanes have won five of their last six games early in the 2025-26 regular season. Head coach Jai Lucas has done a great job recruiting and finding the right talent for the Hurricanes; however, that is when they get a chance to see the court.
Entering this season, the Hurricanes struggled to stay healthy. Four-star freshman Treyvon Maddox hasn’t even seen the floor yet, while the rest of the team is trying to find a good footing.
Against UL Monroe, star five-star freshman Shelton Henderson went down with a lower leg injury with 1:29 left in the first half. It seems he avoided a major injury, warming up in the second half, but Lucas decided not to put him back in the game.
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“We’re still kind of evaluating and seeing what it is,” Lucas said after the victory over the Warhawks. “He tried to kind of go out there and start the second half, run around a little bit, so we’ll see.’
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However this is the tip of the iceberg with the injuries for the Canes.
UM is playing playoff levels with this tight rotation. Starter are playing 30-plus minutes against quad-four teams because of the lack of bodies.
Marcus Allen and Donte Allen have missed every game since the Hurricanes defeated Ole Miss on the road. Ernest Udeh Jr. has been in and out of the line all season. Noam Dovrat has a nagging shoulder injury that will keep him out of the game; Tru Washington has missed time; Tre Donaldson is powering through some little nicks; and now the Henderson injury.
The Hurricanes have the talent to be a Sweet 16 team in the NCAA Tournament, but they have to be on the floor at all times. The Hurricanes are only playing seven players a game right now, and it will either help them or hurt them.
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The Hurricanes are set to face the FIU Panthers, while they try to get healthy at the right time. The Hurricanes are dominating on both sides of the ball, but the challenges from opponents will continue to increase.
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“I expect a war,” Lucas said. “They’re really good. [FIU head coach Jeremy] Ballard’s done a good job this year with his team construction,” Lucas said. “They play with confidence. They play free. They’re aggressive. They’re big. They got really good guards.”
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VITALS: The Miami Heat (32-29) and Brooklyn Nets (15-45) meet for the second of three regular season matchups. Earlier this season, Miami recorded a, 106-95, win in Brooklyn on December 18 and has now won four of the last five overall against the Nets.
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It also marks the first of consecutive games against Brooklyn with the teams facing each other again on Thursday. The Heat are 83-61 all-time versus the Nets during the regular season, including 44-26 in home games and 39-35 in road games.
PROJECTED STARTERS
HEAT
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G Davion Mitchell
G Tyler Herro
C Bam Adebayo
F Pelle Larsson
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F Andrew Wiggins
NETS
G Nolan Traore
G Terance Mann
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C Nic Claxton
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F Michael Porter Jr.
F Noah Clowney
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INJURY REPORT
HEAT
Davion Mitchell: Questionable – Shoulder
Norman Powell: Out – Groin
Nikola Jovic: Out – Back
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Trevor Keels: Available – G League
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Jahmir Young: Available – G League
Vlad Goldin: Available – G League
Terry Rozier: Out – Not with team
NETS
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Nic Claxton: Probable – Thumb
Egor Demin: Out – Foot
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QUOTABLE
Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra: “Regardless of the scheme is, I always go back to that, it’s just about committing to doing hard things. We were really moving in the zone, taking away airspace and scrambling to challenge shots at the rim. In a lot of these losses in the last month we’ve just been giving up shots at the rim and threes.”
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For more Miami Heat information and conversation, check out Off The Floor.
Alexander Toledo is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI and producer/co-host of the Five on the Floor podcast, covering the Heat and NBA. He can be reached at Twitter: @tropicalblanket
ORLANDO, Fla. — Lionel Messi scored twice in a four-goal second half, defender Telasco Segovia added a goal and two assists and defending champion Inter Miami CF rallied to beat Orlando City SC 4-2 on Sunday night, winning for the first time at Inter&Co Stadium.
Messi took a pass from Segovia and scored in the 57th minute to tie it 2-2, and Segovia scored unassisted in the 85th for the lead. Messi put the finishing touch on the victory when he scored off a free kick in the 90th.
“The victory belongs exclusively to the players,” Miami coach Javier Mascherano said after the game. “In the second half, they were a championship team. There were no tactics, nothing like that. There was heart, courage, possession, resilience, commitment. I think the team came out because they were champions last year.
“In the end, the players showed it. This victory is theirs.”
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Messi’s first two goals of the season give him 52 in his first 55 regular-season MLS matches — 51 of them in his past 49 appearances. It also brought the reigning MLS MVP to 898 career goals scored, including 672 for Barcelona and 115 for Argentina.
“He’s the best player to ever play this sport. He’s a leader, and as a leader, he inspires others, but he also often needs to be inspired himself,” Mascherano said of Messi. “When he was driving forward, he had more attacking options, and with so many opportunities, he clearly has the ability to create chances like no one else, and that’s what allowed us to turn the game around.”
Marco Pašalić took a pass from Iván Angulo and scored in the 18th minute to give Orlando City a 1-0 lead. Pašalić has scored in four straight matches against Inter Miami.
Inter Miami players celebrate after scoring a goal against Orlando City in MLS.
Defender Griffin Dorsey set up Martín Ojeda for a goal six minutes later for a 2-0 advantage that stood through halftime.
Inter Miami cut it to 2-1 four minutes into the second half on Mateo Silvetti’s first career goal. Defenders Segovia and Facundo Mura had assists as the 20-year-old forward found the net in his fifth career appearance.
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Segovia had eight goals and six assists as a rookie last season, while Mura collected his first assist in his first season.
Dayne St. Clair, the reigning goalkeeper of the year, turned away three shots — all in the second half of his second start with Inter Miami, but let in a soft goal for Orlando’s first.
Maxime Crépeau had four saves in his second start for Orlando City.
Teenager Colin Guske, 19, will miss Orlando City’s next match after the rookie picked up two yellow cards in his first start — the second one led to his exit in the 88th minute.
Inter Miami, which had never won in its previous nine trips to Orlando, was coming off a 3-0 road loss to LAFC.
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Orlando City swept Inter Miami during the regular season last year and leads the all-time series 8-7-4.
Inter Miami plays D.C. United on Saturday at Audi Field. Orlando City is also on the road with a match against New York City FC.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this recap.
Rain floods Miami Beach streets, cut short Miami Heat Family Festival
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Much-needed rain fell across South Florida on Sunday, but the downpour quickly led to flooding and traffic headaches.
“The drainage systems aren’t the best but in ten minutes it will be gone,” one person said.
The rain lasted longer than 10 minutes, flooding several spots along Collins Avenue in Miami Beach.
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In one neighborhood, at least a foot of water blocked the entrance. Drivers who attempted to pass through sent waves crashing onto nearby sidewalks.
The heavy rain also snarled traffic on parts of Interstate 95 and on the bridges to and from Miami Beach, slowing drivers trying to get around the area.
“It’s Miami for you. What do they call it, a sun shower?” one driver said.
The weather disrupted Sunday plans for many. The 26th annual Miami Heat Family Festival was cut short after strong winds swept through Dan Paul Plaza, knocking over several tents.
There is no word yet on how or when the Miami Heat plan to make up the family festival.
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Brett Knese
Brett Knese joined the Local 10 News team as a general assignment reporter in March 2025.
