MIAMI — While not necessarily the breakthrough of choice, Tyler Herro felt his first technical foul of 2025-26 was well spent Saturday, with the Heat guard sharing in a double-technical with Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant for their first-quarter squabble.

“We’re competing at the end of the day. He was saying I couldn’t guard, and I said something to him,” Herro said of the words exchanged during an early timeout. “But we’re competing.

“At the end of the day, you want to be able to play against the best players in the world and be able to compete like that. That’s what I live for. I love to compete.”

It was the sixth technical foul of the season for Durant, with players fined $2,000 for each of their first five technicals, and then $3,000 apiece for technical fouls Nos. 6-10.

Durant downplayed the moment after the 115-105 loss to the Heat at Kaseya Center.

“I just think we both needed a little jolt of energy to start the game,” he said, with the belief that neither deserved to be so cited.

“We didn’t push each other or do nothing. We just talked. But the refs are trying to clean the games up, and they don’t want anything to escalate, so I get it. But I just think that’s a part of the game.”

Durant said the two share ongoing respect.

Herro said he thought the jolt was needed after the discouraging road losses earlier in the week against the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers.

“I feel like as a team, we didn’t have an edge to us in Milwaukee or Philly,” Herro said. “So I was just trying to bring another edge to it.”

Durant closed the loss with 32 points, while Herro finished with 18 on  8-of-12 shooting.

The 33:05 of action was the most for Herro in his five games back after missing 15 due to a rib issue. With Norman Powell sidelined by a groin strain, Herro started for the first time since Jan. 15.

The 12 shots were the fewest in Herro’s return.

“That’s very small-minded to think I have to come in and shoot every shot, and that’s not effective,” Herro said, “It doesn’t win games, and I know that. So, just come in, let the game come to me, make the right play.”

Herro mostly found himself going against Rockets lockdown wing Amen Thompson, the Fort Lauderdale Pine Crest product who was named first-team NBA All-Defensive last season.

“Thompson is a great defender. He was on me all night, and, you know, it’s respect both ways,” Herro said. “You just compete and try to make winning plays. It doesn’t necessarily need to be scoring every single night.”

Memories saved

It has been a week since Heat president Pat Riley reflected on the overall scope of his coaching career, including with the Heat, during last Sunday’s unveiling of his statue in Los Angeles in front of the Lakers’ arena.

In the wake of those words, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra paused for a poignant moment of reflection, on both on his three-plus decades work with Riley, as well as the fire that destroyed his Coconut Grove home in November.

While charred remains of the blue note cards that Spoelstra and Riley have utilized during their Heat careers could be seen amid that ash and rubble in the wake of that blaze, Spoelstra this past week said another collection had been stored safely away elsewhere, with Spoelstra still in possession of those keepsakes from Riley’s coaching stewardship.

“I have so many notes that actually were not in the house, that were in storage, of when I was a video coordinator and a young assistant,” Spoelstra said. “I used to just take notes of every one of his speeches to the team. Because they were as moving in that time, in a half hour, 45 minutes, with a thoughtful, intentional message as it was (Sunday) in front of everybody.”