By Ira Winderman/Sun Sentinel

Gregg Popovich pulled no punches nor any starters in this visit to AmericanAirlines. Instead he rolled out the real thing for Monday night’s 97-94 exhibition loss to the Miami Heat at AmericanAirlines Arena, sending out a San Antonio Spurs starting lineup of LaMarcus Aldridge, Tim Duncan, Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green and Tony Parker.
Erik Spoelstra, whose night was salvaged by his reserves, could only counter with fourth-fifths of reality for the Heat, opening with Dwyane Wade, Goran Dragic, Chris Bosh and Luol Deng alongside fill-in starter Udonis Haslem.
For the Spurs, and a coach renown, including in this building, for holding out veteran starters, it was an imposing taste of what is expected to follow this season, Aldridge, Duncan and Leonard dominant during their time on the court.
For the Heat, even with the late breakthrough that lifted them to 1-2 in the preseason, it was a continued waiting game, center Hassan Whiteside still out from the calf strain that has had him sidelined since before the start of training camp.
So Haslem again started for the third time in as many exhibitions, and Whiteside again looked on considering the possibilities, the Heat’s projected starting five still never having played a minute together. Ever.
“We’re shooting for a couple more days off and then slowly try to get a practice or so in this week and see how things go,” Whiteside said before the game, hopeful of possibly making his exhibition debut this weekend.
While the Spurs were able to display imposing possibilities, with Aldridge, Duncan and Leonard dominant through three periods, as the Spurs took an 84-71 lead into the fourth quarter, the Heat continue to look like a team yet to coalesce, bailed out by the hunger of their end-of-bench players, particularly guard Tyler Johnson, who closed with 14 points.
“Those young guys will keep you in the stands, in the seats,” Spoelstra said of the closing kick provided by the likes of Johnson, Keith Benson and Josh Richardson. “They just brought a hurricane of energy in those last six minutes.”
As for Whiteside, he once again was reduced to envisioning how he could make things right alongside Wade, Dragic, Deng and Bosh.
“I try to put myself into those situations on defense and what I’d do on offense,” Whiteside said, also to miss Tuesday’s road preseason game against the Orlando Magic. “I always take that approach to the game when I’m not playing, just watching it, just being a student of the game.”
For as uneven as the Heat have been through three preseason games, Whiteside sees something special about to brew when he returns to the lineup.
“I’m really excited because there’s going to be a lot of length out there with me, Bosh and Luol Deng,” he said. “I really don’t see that many teams that are that big through their starting five.”
The Spurs actually are one of them. Aldridge, the prize of this summer’s free agency, closed with 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting and eight rebounds in 24 minutes. Leonard had 14 points and seven rebounds in 23, and Duncan closed with 14 and six in 24. All three sat out the fourth quarter.
Whiteside? He again watched in his warm-ups.
“And I know the fans are getting anxious and I’m getting anxious,” he said. “I’m really excited. We just want to take our time and make sure it’s not a case where it lingers.”
Beyond being without Whiteside, coach Erik Spoelstra also gave Amar’e Stoudemire, Mario Chalmers and Josh McRoberts the night off. Neither Stoudemire nor McRoberts will play Tuesday in Orlando, given the chance for further rest for their balky knees, with Wade also saying he will take the game off and not play in both ends of back-to-backs in the preseason.
Johnson stepped up with a solid effort in place in Chalmers as the backup point guard, with Gerald Green again offering instant offense with that second unit, this time with 17 points in 20 minutes. Greg Whittington also had his moments, with the undrafted rookie forward potentially moving ahead of James Ennis in the Heat’s roster considerations.
As for the Heat starters, Wade closed with 16 points in 21 minutes, while Dragic again had an uneven night, finishing with five points.