Sports

Edwards Drops 45 as Timberwolves Beat Heat 131-106 in Giannis's Miami Debut

Imani WeaverPublished 20m ago2 min readBased on 4 sources
Edwards Drops 45 as Timberwolves Beat Heat 131-106 in Giannis's Miami Debut
Photo by Bryan Berlin / CC BY-SA 4.0

Anthony Edwards scored 45 points on Wednesday, October 21, and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Miami Heat 131-106 to open the season. The night also marked the Heat debut of Giannis Antetokounmpo, who joined Miami in an offseason trade with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Edwards did most of his damage from long range. He made 16 of 29 shots from the floor, including 9 of 17 from three-point range, and grabbed 10 rebounds, according to The Guardian. His 45 points were the most by a Minnesota player in a season opener. He is now the third player in NBA history with multiple 40-point games in season openers, joining Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan.

It was also the 125th game of Edwards's career with at least 30 points. Last season he was an All-Star, averaging 28.8 points per game, third-best in the league, and the Timberwolves finished 49-33, per CBS Sports.

The three-point count tells much of the story. Minnesota made 21 threes to Miami's eight, and that gap did a lot of the work on the scoreboard. A three is worth 50 percent more than a two-pointer, so a team that makes more of them can build a lead without needing to score inside as often.

Giannis had a strong debut for Miami, scoring 35 points and grabbing six rebounds. Klay Thompson added 10 points in his own Heat debut. The Heat could not close the gap against a Minnesota team that kept shooting from deep and kept its lead.

For the Timberwolves, the new faces contributed too. LaMelo Ball made his Minnesota debut with 21 points, six assists and five three-pointers. Jaden McDaniels scored 17, and Rudy Gobert pulled down 15 rebounds, a big number that helped Minnesota win the battle on the glass.

Opening night does not decide a season, and one game says little about how the two teams will look in March. What it does show is how quickly a lead can grow when one team is hitting from everywhere. Miami's new look will get more chances to find its footing, and Minnesota gets an early result to build on.

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