MIAMI – After the Miami Heat beat the Charlotte Hornets in the first NBA Cup group stage game on Friday night, 126-108, it also marked an emotional night for head coach Erik Spoelstra . A day before the win over the Hornets, the Heat coach came home to a devastating house fire after arriving on a late flight from Denver, Colorado, leading some to admire Spoelstra for overcoming such a difficult time.

The feeling within the locker room was mutual in their respect for Spoelstra in showing up to coach shortly after his home burned down, though fortunately, there were no injuries. One player who spoke about Spoelstra was star Jaime Jaquez Jr ., who said Spoelstra is “inspiring” as “you would have never known anything tragic happened.”

“I just want to say how inspiring it was to j

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