Live · Period 3 · 7:37
Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Lakers
57 – 78
2026-27 · Regular season
Minnesota Timberwolves beat Miami Heat 131-106: Anthony Edwards scores 45 with nine threes to spoil Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Heat debut
Anthony Edwards scored 45 and hit a franchise opening-night record nine threes as the Timberwolves routed the Heat 131-106. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 35 in his first regular-season game for Miami, and LaMelo Ball added 21 for Minnesota.
Image: licensed from BasketAPI.In this article
Anthony Edwards scored 45 points and made nine threes, the most ever by a Timberwolves player in a season opener, as Minnesota beat the Miami Heat 131-106 at Kaseya Center on Wednesday, October 21. Edwards also grabbed 10 rebounds, and the Wolves led for 87 percent of the game, spoiling Giannis Antetokounmpo’s first regular-season game for Miami in front of 19,837 fans.
Edwards went 16-of-29 from the field and 9-of-17 from three in 33 minutes and finished plus-27. He is the first player in NBA history with at least 45 points, 10 rebounds and five threes in a season opener. LaMelo Ball added 21 points, 5 threes and 6 assists in his first game for Minnesota, and Antetokounmpo led Miami with 35 points on 13-of-19 shooting.
Video: NBA / X.
How it turned
Antetokounmpo opened the game with a pull-up jumper and scored 14 points in the first quarter, but the Wolves answered from deep. Ball hit two threes in the first three minutes, Edwards scored 12 in the quarter, and Minnesota led 34-32 after one. Miami took its last lead at 50-47 on a Bobby Portis three midway through the second, and then Terrence Shannon Jr. hit back-to-back threes off the bench to swing it. Minnesota closed the half on a 22-9 run, capped by a Ball layup and two Ball free throws in the final 22 seconds, for a 69-59 halftime lead.
Edwards put it away early in the third. He hit a step-back three 86 seconds into the second half, Ball added another, and Edwards’ 26-footer made it 78-61 before the Heat could call timeout. He scored 15 points in the quarter, with four threes in a span of five minutes, and the Wolves took a 99-81 lead into the fourth.
The fourth quarter got chippy. Tim Hardaway Jr. was called for a technical after Edwards’ eighth three made it 107-85, Antetokounmpo was called for a flagrant 1 foul on Shannon with 7:09 left, and Edwards picked up a technical of his own. He answered with his ninth three, a 23-foot step-back that made it 121-93 with 4:46 to play. Minnesota led by as many as 30.
The numbers
Minnesota made 21 of 50 threes, while Miami went 8-of-33. The Wolves grabbed 17 offensive rebounds to Miami’s 4 and scored 31 points off the Heat’s 19 turnovers. Rudy Gobert scored 5 points but pulled down 15 rebounds and was plus-27, Jaden McDaniels added 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting with 8 rebounds and 4 steals, and Ayo Dosunmu scored 16 off the bench. Jonathan Kuminga had 12 points and 4 steals, and Shannon finished with 10.
Miami’s side
Antetokounmpo made 9 of 14 free throws and added 6 rebounds in 30 minutes, but he was minus-11 and got little help from the perimeter. Bam Adebayo scored 15 with 7 rebounds and 3 steals, Andrew Wiggins and Davion Mitchell had 11 each, Mitchell also handed out 10 assists but turned it over 6 times and Klay Thompson scored 10 on three threes. Tim Hardaway Jr. went 1-of-7 from three off the bench. Minnesota played without Donte DiVincenzo.
What’s next
The Timberwolves visit the Orlando Magic on Friday, October 23 (7 p.m. ET, 2 a.m. Saturday Cairo time). The Heat host the Detroit Pistons the same night (8 p.m. ET, 3 a.m. Saturday Cairo time).
Full box score and play-by-play: Game Center. All-time head-to-head.
Join the discussion
0 commentsTalk basketball. Keep it respectful. You can use a name or stay Anonymous. Comments publish immediately.
Be the first to start the conversation.