Heat’s Norman Powell pushes through pain to finish win vs. Bulls: ‘I have a high pain tolerance’

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Heat’s Norman Powell pushes through pain to finish win vs. Bulls: ‘I have a high pain tolerance’

Miami Heat guard Norman Powell could have taken the rest of the game off, but he didn’t want to.

“I’m always going to try to fight through pain and injuries,” Powell said. “I love the game too much. I don’t want to take anything for granted. If I’m able to play and I feel like I can play, I’m going to go out there and give it the best I can.”

So after Powell left the Heat’s 143-107 blowout win over the Chicago Bills on Friday night at United Center with 4:34 left in the first quarter and hobbled to the Heat’s locker room because of tightness he felt in his left groin, he pushed to return to the game.

While the Heat labeled Powell’s return to the contest as questionable because of a left groin strain, he tested his tweaked groin on the stationary bike before returning to the game with 8:24 remaining in the second quarter.

“I know the team needs me out there, and I’m just glad it’s nothing too serious.” Powell, 32, said.

Powell didn’t waste any time in showing he felt healthy enough to play, scoring eight points in three minutes after re-entering the game.

Powell ended the night with 19 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals in 25 minutes. He was able to watch the entire fourth quarter of the lopsided game from the Heat’s bench.

“It felt good,” Powell said when asked how his groin felt after returning to play in Friday’s victory. “I felt it here and there. I thought we did a great job of adding some extra support for it. But yeah, I saw the doctors, and they’re not worried about it. They don’t think it can get any worse. So it’s all about pain tolerance. I have a high pain tolerance, so I’m not too worried about it.”

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was also encouraged by Powell’s prognosis, noting that Powell was just being cautious since he missed three games earlier this season because of a right groin strain.

“He was just tight,” Spoelstra said. “He’s very aware because of what he went through earlier. But it wasn’t the same thing. And he loosened up, got checked out by the trainers, and he assured us that he was ready to go, and he feels good right now.”

Powell is again expected to play on Sunday against the 76ers in Philadelphia (1 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Sun), as he’s listed as probable for the contest with what the Heat has now labeled as “left hip irritation.” The Heat is in the middle of a busy stretch that includes three games in four nights, which has the Heat returning to Miami for a matchup against the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night.

The bottom line, though, is that Powell appears to have avoided an injury that would keep him out for an extended stretch.

That’s good news for the Heat, considering Powell has been among the NBA’s most efficient scorers this season. While Heat guard Tyler Herro has been sidelined to start the season after undergoing ankle surgery in September, Powell is averaging a team-high 24.9 points per game while shooting 49.1 percent from the field and 45.6 percent from three-point range in his first season with the Heat after landing with Miami in a trade this past offseason.

Powell enters Saturday as one of just two players in the NBA who have played in more than five games and are averaging at least 24 points per game while shooting better than 45 percent from the field and better than 45 percent from three-point range this season. The other is Milwaukee Bucks two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.

“We always respected him,” Spoelstra said of Powell. “Everything we’ve heard about him, it was a personality fit to how we do things. And then we just wanted to be open-minded to where he could go. He’s somebody similar to Bam [Adebayo], that he has such a strong work ethic, that he’s continued to evolve and get better year after year, pretty consistently over the course of his career. Having his best year last year, after the age of 30, I think is something you have to respect. And since Tyler has been out, that’s been really important for him, to be aggressive for us.”

Keshad Johnson (16) shoots the ball during the first day of Miami Heat Training Camp on Sept. 30, 2025, at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. Alie Skowronski askowronski@miamiherald.com

STEPPING IN AND STEPPING UP

With Heat forwards Nikola Jovic and Andrew Wiggins out because of hip injuries, second-year forward Keshad Johnson stepped into that void in the rotation and produced positive minutes in Friday’s win over the Bulls.

After totaling just seven points and eight rebounds during his first five appearances of the season, Johnson recorded 14 points, 11 rebounds, one assist, one steal and two blocks while posting a standout plus/minus of plus 23 in his sixth appearance of the season on Friday. In addition to logging a career-high 29 minutes in the Heat’s win over the Bulls, Johnson’s 11 rebounds also marked a new career-high.

“I’m really happy for KJ, because he’s been so dedicated behind the scenes,” Spoelstra said. “And when I’ve given him some minutes, they haven’t been fair. This was the first game where I played him at the four. The other games I’ve played him at the five. The first game was against [Nikola] Jokic. I mean, come on, that’s not even fair. But he has stayed diligent. He’s constantly being mentored by [Malik Allen, Udonis Haslem] and Bam. Everybody roots for him, because he’s so pure. He really works at it. He stays ready so he doesn’t have to get ready. And then he finally got an opportunity where it was much more in his wheelhouse and he made a big impact.”

Johnson, who initially joined the Heat as an undrafted free agent during the 2024 offseason, had his full $2 million salary for this season already guaranteed by the Heat.

“Defensively he was really good with the switching, guarding off the dribble, making plays at the rim,” Spoelstra continued on Johnson following Friday’s win in Chicago. “His rebounding was great. His energy was great, giving us second opportunities. And then he knocked down a couple of threes. But it was the energy and physicality, toughness. I think the whole locker room was rooting for him. That’s the kind of guy he is.”

For the 24-year-old Johnson, it was all about having a “next-man-up mentality.”

“Coach Spo told me to be ready and just do what I do, bring energy, and that’s what I was able to bring,” Johnson said. “With Wiggs’ minutes being gone and Jovic’s minutes being gone, everybody has to step up.”

INJURY REPORT

While Powell is probable to play on Sunday against the 76ers, the Heat will remain without Vlad Goldin (G League), Herro (left ankle surgery), Kasparas Jakucionis (G League), Jovic (right hip impingement), Terry Rozier (not with team) and Wigggins (left hip flexor strain).

This story was originally published November 22, 2025 at 11:34 AM.